Son of Aphrodite
by stAnd out - SHOUT OUT
Summary: While searching for a delusional killer, Reid gets kidnapped to become the match for a woman that the unsub considers to be his sister and a goddess. She and Reid must try to send out messages to the team before the end comes to them Spencer/OC
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or the characters, but I do own my OC.**

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><p>The air was stale and cold, leaving a deep chill in the large, circular room. One small crack along the top of the ceiling shown light down on the dirt floor, shadows from different shapes in the sand leaving frightening images on the ground. The musk that hung in the air made it hard to breathe, made it hard to stand the room. Stone walls held in the chill, cold emanating off the rocks. The soft sound of sobbing echoed off the walls, filling the space. Two forms huddled against the wall of stone, shivering underneath the dark blue sleeping bag. The thin woman sobbed out again, her face hidden beneath the material.<p>

"I'm so cold," She whispered quietly, her whole body shaking beneath the thin material of the sleeping bag. Her skin was pale and she was covered with a cold sweat, her breath appearing in the air of the darkness.

"Come here."

The woman looked up with blue eyes, dull and tired. Shifting closer to the man at her side, she felt his arms encircle her shoulders, his body heat warming her slowly. She continued to shake, a tear sliding from her eye to slide along her cheek. Her thin arms wrapped around his waist, shaky and hesitant. The once white dress shirt that he had been wearing was dirtied and wrinkled, soaked through on the shoulder from the woman's tears.

Both were thin from lack of proper food, dirty from the dirt along the ground, pale from the sun that was kept out of their reach. The only thing inside the room that could keep them warm was that small blanket, far too think to protect them from the cold of the stone that surrounded them on all sides.

"You need to try and take your mind off the cold, just think about something pleasant." The woman looked up at the man at her side, his once light chocolate eyes darkened with the lack of proper light.

"What's pleasant anymore?" She mumbled back, another horrid shiver quaking through her body. He wrapped his arms more tightly around her shoulders, trying to give her more of his warmth. It did seem like the light was gone, like hope was slowly ebbing away. And she had good reason to believe so because she had been there longer than he had.

A voice drifted down from the crack in the ceiling, muffled from the wooden shutters. "To be together in this life, and to be together in the next."

The woman began to sob more loudly, holding onto the man tighter as she silently began to pray to any god that might be listening.

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><p><strong>I'll have the next chapter out very soon, probably tomorrow. I have a French exam tomorrow so I'm going to be studying. Hope you want to read more and keep following.<strong>


	2. The Matchmaker

**The Matchmaker**

Spencer Reid looked over the body of the man lying in the center of the room, the other agents and officers inside the room walking around him in a blur. The snap of photos didn't register in his mind as he looked over the body. He was lying on his back, stripped naked with a white sheet wrapped around his waist to cover him. He had been poisoned, killing him slowly, but painlessly. There were some signs of a struggle, but the damage was so minimal that it seemed that the man either surrendered or was forced down somehow.

"We can't be sure exactly how he died until we do an autopsy, but my best guess would be a poisoning," The coroner said as she knelt over the body. Her long red hair was brittle from age and the laugh lines along her face were more visible as she frowned in concentration.

"Why choose such an open place to lay the body?" Rossi asked as he looked over to Prentiss.

"They're almost remorseful, showing respect to the person by wrapping a blanket around their waist to keep their modesty," Prentiss mumbled, walking in a wide arch around the man. "He's wasn't healthy before he died, that's for sure. He's far too thin for a man his size, look at the clear show of his ribs."

"Look at this," Morgan interrupted, pulling out a piece of paper from underneath the body, his hands covered with a pair of blue latex gloves. Opening the folded note, he read the words aloud, "'He has failed to grant the wish that Mother has requested, so now he shall return to Her for further direction and blessing. She still remains alone, her next gift will be chosen in time'." Reid's brows dipped down as he thought the words through, shifting around different things inside his mind.

"What's this, on the bottom?" Hotch asked, pointed to the bottom corner of the paper. Reid walked over to Morgan, who handed him the note without a second thought. A small emblem was burned on the bottom corner of the page, of a swan and a dove. Reid recognized the significance of the birds right away.

"The swan and the dove was a representation of the Goddess Aphrodite, one of the gods of Olympus. She was known as the Goddess of love and beauty, hence the swan and dove," Reid explained easily, "The woman that the unsub refers to as 'Mother' is probably Aphrodite, and they killed him to return him to the Goddess."

"What do they mean by 'she still remains alone'?" Prentiss asked, looking at the note from Reid's side.

"They aren't referring to Aphrodite anymore, if they were, they would have capitalized the S and H of she and her, because of the reference to a Goddess. Because the Goddess was of love and beauty, maybe the unsub is trying to become her, or represent her." Reid looked around at the faces of the team, his eyes ghosting over the body of the man once more.

"You mean this guy—or girl—is trying to become some kind of matchmaker?" Morgan asked, standing from the crouched position that he had been in a moment before.

"And they kill whoever doesn't meet the standards that he places for the woman that he has," Prentiss finished, nodding her head. It almost made since after linking him to the Goddess of love and beauty.

"But what woman does he have? Is she a victim as well or does she work with him?" Rossi voiced, still looking down at the man on the floor. "Or, is it the unsub that is the woman, and she's looking for the perfect male?"

"I don't think so," Reid interjected, "That doesn't fit with the note. If the unsub had been looking for someone for herself, they wouldn't have spoken in third person. They only consider themselves a kind of messenger of Aphrodite, therefore they don't have the standing of a god or higher power and can't refer to themselves in such a royal way."

The team stepped aside as the coroner entered the room once more with a couple of other officers, wheeling in a gurney and body bag. The body of the man was moved carefully into the bag and placed it on the gurney before being wheeled from the room.

"You killed him?"

The man watched the woman that sat down in the dirt at the base of a room nearly fifteen feet below him. Her dirt covered face had two clean tracks down either cheek from tears, smudged from her hands trying to wipe them away. She was breathing heavily as she looked up to the man, the light behind him hiding his face.

"Please, you will understand my ways in time, child. He was not for you, he had made you angry and he must be taken away before he upset you further. You are a child of a Goddess, love and beauty are gifts to you that can never be tarnished. Only one man could ever deserve you, young one, but do not fear, I will find him soon."

"Please, let me out of here! I need to eat, I need to bathe, I need light. I'll get sick and die down here!" The woman cried, her voice cracking from screaming.

"No, my child, my sister, you will live long and beautifully, have faith in your blood."

"I am not the daughter of a Goddess! My mother was an Interior Designer that died when I was young!" The man disappeared from view, causing the woman to panic. "No, please you have to let me out! _Please!_"

The doors of the ceiling began to close, shadowing her in darkness once more, only the crack of light from the crease lighting the space. The woman began to cry again, ducking her head down as she collapsed into the sand beneath her. Wearing only a warn and dirtied sleeping top that had spaghetti straps and no midriff, her pyjama shorts just as equally dirty as the rest of her.

"I don't want to die," She sobbed quietly to herself, her hands fisting in the dirt. Remaining where she was as she cried, the cold of the space began to nip and bite at her bare skin, even her covered skin. "I don't want to die _here_." Pulling herself together as best she could, the woman stood to her full height and stumbled toward the wall of the room, her eyes adjusting to the darkness around her. Touching a hand to the stone wall, she leant against the cold reassurance of a solid surface, sliding down to the ground.

She didn't know how long she had been down there, and the man that she had met only briefly hadn't known who she was so he couldn't tell her how long she had been gone. From what she could gather from her sleep cycle, she had been down here for maybe two weeks at the least, but there were days when she would sleep all the day through or would have trouble falling into a slumber.

Her name was Aurora McNeil, twenty-five years old. Her dark brown hair was matted from lack of being washed and her once pale skin was dark from dirt. Her legs and feet were scratched from the sand and rocks and her hands were raw from scratching at the walls to try and find some way out. Her once vibrant blue eyes were dull and nearly lifeless, rimmed red from the harsh tears that fell down her cheeks. She was allowed to wash only a few times; letting her clean her hair and body, brush her teeth and such.

"I'll die here alone, or with some man that I don't know," Aurora muttered to herself, placing a hand over her face, cradling herself against the wall. Her limbs shook from fatigue and lack of food, her throat was drying from screaming and lack of water. She wished for so many things that were so simple to acquire, and yet they were withheld from her, and she had once taken them for granted.

Looking around the dark space, she located the sleeping bag that he had given to her and the man from before, dark ad crumpled on the far side of the circular room. Pulling herself up, her had to stand still as the world spun around her, letting herself adjust. Once she was sure that she wouldn't collapse, she walked across the room on weak legs, falling into the sleeping bag only a moment before she blacked out.

"The poison that was used to killed Drake Andros was Cyanide," Prentiss read as she sat on the edge of one of the police desks, reading the coroner's report. "Kills the person painlessly and slowly. At least he wasn't being tortured while he was there aside from lack of proper food and water."

Morgan snapped the cell phone that he had in his hand closed and looked over to the others, "Garcia thinks that she found the missing woman. She's going to be sending an email with her information to the address that was given to her. She says her name is Aurora McNeil, went missing almost three weeks ago. She was reported missing, but with no leads they had to put the case aside for more pressing matters."

"What else did she find out about her?" Hotch asked as calm as ever, his eyes fixed on the board before them. There had been a similar death ten years before, a man killed with Cyanide and left in an open place, and then less than two weeks later, a man and a woman went missing, but were never found. All three were from the same town.

"She's an art teacher at the local high-school, she's twenty-five years old. Brown hair, blue eyes, real tall. Garcia's sending a picture as well."

"No need, I'm good friends with her," The police chief said as he walked over from his desk, holding out a picture. A woman with long dark brown hair and blue eyes stood at his side, both smiling at the camera with the police station in the background. "Her father and I were old pals from high school. When he died last year from cancer...I kind of helped her back on her feet. She had been talking about taking a vacation for a while and that's what everyone had thought had happened. It was her friend Jessica that called her in missing when she went to her apartment and found everything still there, her purse was at the front door with her wallet and cell."

"So she was taken from inside her apartment?"

"With no sign of forced entry."

Reid looked down at the picture of the woman, her face lingering inside his mind. The team spoke on around them, his mind picking up the words without registering them right away. Instead, he was shuffling through the information that had been picked up from the last murder ten years before, and they most recent one that they were assisting with.

"You said that the other two were never found, from ten years ago. Maybe the unsub decided that they were a perfect fit and somehow kept them together, but something happened to them recently and he had to find a new woman to match up?" Reid asked, drawing everyone's attention.

"Or it could be that he saw Ms. McNeil and thought that she fit a physical part, she does share a lot of physical attributes with the first woman."

"Hey guys, check this out." Reid looked away from the photo to see Prentiss pulling out a piece of white material that was inside an evidence envelope. "The report says that this was rolled up inside the man's mouth, in his cheek. '_Find me before the next man is chosen, or he'll kill us both'_. It looks like it's written on a ripped fabric, maybe from a shirt or sheet. I think it's scratched on with charcoal." Reid walked over to where Prentiss leaned against the desk, taking the bag from her to inspect the writing. It was sloppily written in what did look like black charcoal, smudged from the man's saliva.

"'We'll both die'?" Morgan voiced for them all.

Rossi nodded his head, looking to the team, "Now we know that the unsub is male, and that the woman must be a victim, so it has to be Ms. McNeil."

"I think," Reid began, his eyes still fixed on the note. When he did look up, there was something akin to worry in his eyes. "I think that when he finds the perfect match for the woman, he kills them both. I think he tries to put them together for eternity, with the goddess, Aphrodite." Prentiss jaw slackened as she thought over the words, the others in the group doing the same.

"It makes sense," Hotch said quietly. "In this life, he must know that love doesn't last long, not with modern divorces and annulments. So the only way to make sure that they stay together and that his work isn't wasted is by killing them, preserving their love for eternity with death."

"_Oh, that is so sad and so not the time I wanted to come into the conversation._" The team looked over to the computer beside Morgan, seeing the small window on the screen that had Garcia's face in the center.

"Hey, what do you got for us, baby girl?"

"_I was just looking at the website that Aurora McNeil keeps for her students, a guide about what they are doing in class and when. She was teaching about Roman Art History the week that she disappeared."_ A site appeared on the screen next to Garcia's window, the group of agents moving forward to look. It showed the class schedule that Aurora kept for her students.

"I think we should go and have a talk with her students."


	3. Preparation For A Suitor

**Preparation For A Suitor**

Aurora groaned from the congested feeling in her head. If felt like someone was slowly filling her skull with water to the point that it would explode. Lifting a hand to her forehead, she tried to message the pain away gently, but the ebbing remained.

"Don't worry, it'll stop hurting soon."

The burnet yelped at the voice, so close to her person. Moving to get away from the voice, she found that she was sliding across tile. Opening her eyes to bright lights, she was momentarily blinded as she tried to look around. Tipping forward, she tried to catch her body with her hands but slipped on the wet floor. The cold tile touched her body, her whole body. She gasped as she realised that she was completely bare.

A male chuckle echoed in the room as she rolled onto her side on the floor, trying to hide some of her modesty. "Don't be shy, my sister, you are as beautiful as Mother is. Come now, we must prepare you for your suitor."

A small prick in her arm caused Aurora to cry out, trying too late to move away. Opening her eyes again, the light was nowhere near as blinding as it had been before. The man knelt over her, wearing a white outfit that had a hood and scarf covering most of his head. She could only see from halfway up his nose to just below his eyebrows. He had bright green eyes. She tried to talk, to protest, but she couldn't move her lips.

"Sh, don't worry, I'll take good care of you, just relax." The man gently lifted her from the ground, her head rolling back over his arm. Aurora could see everything that he was doing, letting her take in the room. It was a bathroom, that was for sure, but it was strangely designed. The bathtub was in the ground, large and circular. The entire bathroom was white and soft pink tiling, small insignias of swans and dove around the walls.

She was laid down on the tiles next to the bathtub, the cold feeling raising bumps along her skin. She was left looking over toward the water, unable to even blink as she waited for what she had no idea was going to happen. The feel of a wet cloth stroking along her shoulder caused her mind to begin to panic, but her body was unable to show any sign. The cloth slowly washed her skin, every once and a while the man dipping it inside the bath.

"I have someone very special for you, you must look your best for him, sister," The man said quietly, the cloth washing over her chest. Aurora could feel her eyes begin to sting from tears, her vision becoming blurred.

The man took his time washing her body, gently sitting her up to wash her back, holding her head over the tub to wash her hair. She was nearly glad that her body was numb when he waxed her legs and bikini line, but her eyes still stung as shame and embarrassment ebbed through her. Soon after he had finished with her legs, the drug that he had given her was starting to wear off slowly, allowing her to be able to blink, carefully moving around. The man lifted her up once more, carefully lowering her into the water. The tub was deep, up to her shoulders when she was standing. He kept his arm around her shoulder to stop her from sinking into the water, using his free hand to run water of her shoulders and neck and face.

"I'm sure you will be very pleased with this man, he's around your age and is very smart." The man continued to talk quietly to her, telling her about the man that she was going to 'receive'. She had almost regained full control over her body when he gently picked her up from the tub, lying her down on the floor beside the water once more. "I will leave you to get dressed, sister."

Once the man had left, Aurora curled onto her side, tucking into herself and crying quietly. She could still feel him washing her body, degrading all of her against her will. Knowing that this was one of her only times to have a clean room to herself, she pulled herself up again, taking a white towel that was folded on a counter in front of a large mirror. Looking to her reflection, she was shocked at how pale she was. It looked like she had been revived from the dead. The oily soap that he had used in her hair left it shiny, and her once bright eyes seemed darker than usual, more grey than blue.

Drying herself with the fluffy white towel, she couldn't stop herself from relishing in the amazing feeling of being clean again. Checking herself in the mirror after she had dried off, she knew that she needed to get some food into herself with her ribs exposed as much as they were. Holding out her arms to the sides, her muscles were far more defined because of the lack of fat on her body anymore, but her bone joints also stood out. Her shoulder bones were frighteningly visible and her cheekbones were more defined than they had ever been.

"Not quite the diet that I had in mind," She muttered quietly, turning away from the mirror to look for the clothes that he could have been talking about. A folded set of what she thought must have been clothes sat on a comfortable looking chair, drawing her forward. Wrapping herself in the towel, she easily retrieved the pile of material and picked up the first piece. "You've got to be kidding."

It looked like some kind of midriff exposing top, but it only had one sleeve that went down to her elbow, all white. Picking up the other article of clothing, she let out a small sigh of relief when she saw that they skirt would reach well past her knees. Pulling on the top and skirt, she went back to the mirror to check what she looked like. Her hair was much dryer now, flowing down the back of her shirt in messy waves. The shirt was tight on her, even with the weight that she had lost, and the skirt was meant to hang low on her hips, more of a skort because of the small shorts built in. A long slit was up the left side, exposing her thigh.

"Amazing, you truly are one of Aphrodite's children." Stumbling in shock, Aurora looked toward the voice, seeing the man standing there once again. Aurora leaned back against the counter behind her, watching him wearily. "Come now, it's time for you to wait for him." Stepping toward her at an average pace, Aurora remained still, waiting for her moment.

When he was only a foot away from her, she dove forward and roughly shoved him away from her. The man stumbled back, giving her the opening she needed. Taking off running, she bolted out the door as her heart began to pound within her chest, her feet stumbling beneath her. The hallways looked like a fancy stone, polished and shining.

"Aurora!"

Running as hard as she could, the hallways cut off on a sharp right, leading down another long hallway. It looked almost like a fancy hotel that she was in. The sight of an elevator almost had her cry in joy, hitting the call button over and over to try and get the elevator there faster. She looked up toward the end of the hall, just waiting to see the man turn the corner. The elevator dinged as it arrived, the polished metal doors opening. Stepping inside, she hit the button to the main floor repeatedly, almost crying when they doors didn't close right away.

A sharp stabbing pain in the back of her neck caused her to cry out in pain and fear, falling against the wall of the elevator. An arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her up against a strong body, stopping her from hitting the ground. "Why did you have to try and run, sister?"

Groaning in pain, she let the darkness slowly shade into her vision, blinding her from the real world. She could feel the man pick her up, her world rocking around as he carried her. She had been so close, she could almost smell the fresh air of the real world.

"JJ, have you seen Reid?" Hotch called from across the room, where the blond woman was beginning to pack away the sheets and photos from that day. JJ looked up to Hotch before glancing around the room, not spotting the burnet amongst the cops inside.

"Not since we got back from the high-school," She answered back, causing Hotch to gain a serious look. Pulling out his phone, he hit the speed dial for Reid's phone and placed it against his ear, waiting. Thirty seconds after holding the phone to his ear, the entire team had turned their attention to him. Hotch pulled the phone away and snapped it closed.

"Reid's not answering his phone, Morgan, get a hold of Garcia and see if she can trace it." Walking from the room, he looked into the small conference rooms that they were allowed to use to try and find the brilliant Dr. Spencer Reid. After checking the possible rooms inside the station, he moved back to the main room that they had their evidence board in.

"Hey, Hotch!" Morgan called from across the room, motioning him forward. The rest of the team was already waiting, looking both worried and panicked. Morgan showed him the cell phone that Reid owned, slightly scraped up. "Found this outside the station, near the curb. No one saw Reid enter the building when we got back. We all went to our own, no one really noticed him gone at first."

"Damn it," Hotch swore quietly, placing his hand over his mouth as he looked over toward the evidence board.

Spencer Reid could feel the sharp tug as he was suspended by his arms, drawing him out of his drug induced sleep. He could feel thick rope digging into his wrists, his shoulders straining against the weight of his body as he hung. Opening his eyes slowly, he could feel the beginning of a headache in the back of his skull. There was barely any light in the room that he was inside, only one single bulb that dangled a couple of feet away from him.

"Dr. Spencer Reid, good to see you're awake." Looking toward the voice, Reid winced at the sharp pain that travelled through his neck from the movement.

"Where am I?" He asked quietly, looking around as his eyes adjusted. It was a small circular room, a hole leading to some kind of pit beneath him. The walls looked like they had been patched up with tin sheets, small cracks showing the night time world outside.

"That's not important. What is important, however, is the job that you have." Looking over to the man that spoke, Reid tried to get a better look at him face, but he was wearing a hood and he was shadowed from the position of the light. Reid caught sight of the dove and swan emblem on the breast of the robe and felt his chest tighten. "I know that you know all about my duty to Aphrodite, you are a very smart man for understanding. Much better than the last man that I picked up; he fought with Sister far too much."

"Sister?"

"Yes, she and I are both the children of a Goddess, and as soon as I find the perfect mate for her, they will both return to Mother. Hopefully, you can prove that I have chosen right." Reid watched the man's movements carefully as he walked over toward a lever, pulling it down. The hook that Reid's ropes were draped over began to lower, the clanking of a chain sounding inside the small room, echoing off the metal plating on the sides.

"Wait, no don't do this!"

"Be kind to her, Dr. Reid, I have prepared her for you. Now, you must accept one another."

Reid looked around as he descended into the darkness of the pit beneath him, the small light from the room above showing that there was sand covering the ground. Looking up to his wrists, he tried to struggle free while he could still hook a foot into the side panelling, but the opportunity passed and he was surrounded by a larger, once more circular, room. His feet hit the ground a minute later, the chain stopping. Pulling the ropes over the hook, the chain began to rise again. Reid knew better than to try anything when his life was in this man's hands.

'_He has prepared her for me?_' Reid thought to himself in confusion. A small portion of light that he hadn't noticed before caught his attention from the right, drawing him to look. A small candle burned slowly, the end shoved into the sand to keep it upright. Beside the candle, the face on a woman was lit up in the soft light. Reid eyes widened as his mind flashed back to the photo.

"Aurora?" He called quietly, stepping toward her. She didn't stir, she seemed to be either asleep or unconscious. Slowly kneeling down beside her, Reid used his tied hands to gently touch over her pulse, relieved to feel it beating strong and normal. Checking over her body to make sure that she was uninjured, he couldn't help when his mouth went dry. She looked freshly washed, her clothes a pristine white and her skin smooth and dirt free. The sight of her flat abdomen and long legs made his stomach tighten against his will.

The sound of metal chains and heavy wood slamming closed drew Reid's attention to the ceiling that he had been lowered through. Two heavy wooden shutter doors now blocked out the light that been shinning in from the top room. Feeling the girl shift underneath his hand on her shoulder, Reid looked back toward her quickly. She didn't seem to have awoken yet, but her breathing was beginning to pick up and her head had fallen to the side to look away from him. Briefly checking that she was going to be fine on her own, Reid stepped away and began to survey the room.


	4. Strong Front

**Strong Front**

Aurora could feel the cold air on her skin, the familiar feeling causing dread to fill her. She was back, back inside that hell hole that he had placed her in. Opening her eyes, she could see that there was a soft light shining on the stone wall. The warmth close to her head proved that it was close to her left side. Shifting around to test her limps, her legs felt sore from running so suddenly before to try and get away. A gentle hand on her forearm caused her to jump, a startled scream escaping her lips.

"No! It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you!" Turning to face the man, she knew right away that it wasn't the same man that had taken her. He had green eyes, but the man before her had soft brown ones. "Aurora McNeil?"

"Yes," She whispered quietly, pushing herself up. She was still wearing the outfit that he had given to her, and her hair was pulled up into a horse-tail.

"My name is Dr. Spencer Reid, I'm here working on the case with the FBI." Aurora's eyes widened as she looked at him, his longish brown hair falling into his eyes. He was wearing a white button up shirt with a sweater overtop, as well as a pair of brown dress pants.

"The FBI?"

"We were called in when..." Reid trailed off slightly, causing Aurora's bright blue eyes to meet his, the candlelight catching the shadows of her hollowed cheeks.

"When you found Drake," She finished quietly, already knowing the fate of her last cell mate. "How long have I been down here?" She asked quietly, moving to wrap her arms more closely around herself. Reid paused in answering her, seeing only her malnourished state and the look of utter hopelessness on her face.

"Nearly three weeks," Reid finally answered. Aurora took in a deep inhale, the breath shaking as it entered her lungs. The light from the candle caught the shine as the water of tears collected in her eyes. Hesitating a moment, Reid reached up and took her hand cautiously. "My team are amazing workers, they'll find us," Reid assured gently, causing her to look over to him again.

"What do you do?"

"I work with a team at the BAU, Behaviour Analysis Unit. We study the behaviour of criminals to help in catching murderers, abductors; what we call the unsub," Reid explained briefly.

"Unsub?" Aurora asked quietly, shuffling around to face Reid more fully. Reid took in her relaxing shoulders and curious eyes, before noticing the bumps that rose along her skin. The air in the room was cold, and the amount of skin that was exposed would have left her freezing cold.

"Unknown Subject. Have you been wearing that the whole time you've been here?" Reid asked softly, getting a surprised look from her at the sudden question.

"No," Aurora answered, trying to cover her legs more with the skirt. "I was wearing shorts and a shirt; he had taken me from my apartment when I was sleeping. He took me from this place one night; I woke up in a fancy bathroom. He gave me some kind of a drug and I couldn't move. He-" Her voice cut off as she looked away, resting her cheekbone on her raised knee. "He bathed me, and when I could move again, he left me alone to change into these clothes. He had said that he was 'preparing me for my suitor'. I tried to run."

"Were you able to see where you were?" Reid asked carefully, seeing the fragile state that she was in.

"I don't know for sure, but it looked like an expensive hotel or something. Granit walls, really fancy." Adjusting her skirt again, Reid looked away when the slit in the side of her skirt opened to expose her thigh. Aurora blushed slightly and fixed the material so it was wrapped tightly around her legs, pulling her knees up toward her chest and wrapping her arms under her knees to hold the skirt closed. Shorts or not, she didn't need to show him all that.

"Were you able to see what he looks like?" Reid knew that he sounded more like he was in an interrogation room with her than locked away in what could only be guessed as a basement.

"He wears a white robe, there's a hood that covers his hair and a scarf that hides his mouth. But I saw that he had green eyes, and his skin is a bit tan, like he hangs out in the sun. He's tall, six feet if not more." Aurora stopped, trying to think. There wasn't much that she knew about him that could help, and telling Reid didn't seem to help since he was stuck in there as well. "There's nothing else I can think of."

"He hasn't done anything to you?"

"No, nothing but repetitive sedation," Aurora muttered back. The sharp sound of the shutters on the ceiling opening again caused Aurora to jump and move back until her back connected with the wall. Reid looked up to the opening, watching as something was lowered down on the same hook that he had been. The box stopped a couple of feet above the ground, the man waiting.

"Come, my sister, I have something for you," The man called down gently. Aurora took a shaky breath, pulling herself up to her feet. The white skirt she wore spun around her knees as she walked, her legs shaking as she tried to steady herself. There was a box wrapped in a bow, which was hooked to the chain. Pulling the bow off the hook, she stepped away when the sharp metal began to rise again.

"What is that?" Reid asked as he stepped up toward her.

"Food, I think. It's usually how he delivers it, but usually not as pretty," Aurora explained, jumping at the loud slam of the shutters. Pulling the bow open, she held the box still as Reid opened the flaps of the box. A large thermos, two apples, two water bottles, and what looked like some kind of salad in a large lid covered dish.

"How often does he deliver food?" Reid asked as he pulled out the thermos. "Has he ever spiked anything?"

"Not that I know of, well, only when he needed to take Drake out. If I've been here for about three weeks, then I guess that he feeds us about four times a week, but he skips meals. I don't think I've ever had more than one meal a day, but when he does give food there's usually enough to save some for later. Like the apples, keep the apples for tomorrow. Whatever's in the thermos we should probably have now." Looking over to the other burnet, she could see the slight surprise in his shadowed eyes. "Three weeks, you learn a lot."

"Sorry," Reid muttered quietly. The two moved back to the blanket that Aurora had been sleeping on before, which looked like a new sleeping bag. Reid opened the thermos to find that it was a fresh vegetable soup. Two cups were on the inside of the thermos lid, small but clean. Aurora held the cups with slightly shaky hands as Reid poured a small amount into each one. Reid couldn't help but feel awkward sitting alone in a darkened room with a woman that he found to be very attractive.

"Can we please talk about something?" Aurora asked quietly shyly. Reid looked over to her, seeing the loneliness on her face.

"Uhm, sure. You're an art teacher, right?" Reid asked hesitantly. Aurora gave a small smile then, surprising the man. She looked over to the wall on the other side of him, drawing his attention. Reid looked over, his eyes widening when he saw that she had drawn differed pictures on the wall by using stones in the sand. There were simple sketches of different animals, items and flowers. "Wow, you've drawn all these?"

"It's a passion I've had since I was a child. I used to draw pictures on pavement in chalk instead of playing hopscotch, and because of all the free time I have in here, I had to think of something to do." Reid looked over a sketch that was close to him, the white lines contrasting against the dark stone. It was of a large and detailed flower, one that he remembered was called the Calla Lilly.

"These are amazing," Reid muttered, not really knowing that he was saying anything before he could think it through, "You're a very talented artist, Ms. McNeil."

"Thank you, and just call me Aurora, please? Do you prefer Spencer, or Reid?" When Reid looked back over to Aurora, he was shocked to see that she had already finished off the cup of soup that he had poured for her.

"I'm fine with either, more?" Reid held up the thermos, getting a shy wince in return before she held out her hand. "I'm guessing that you've already looked over the whole room for a way out?"

"Yep," she said as she nodded her thanks once he had poured her another cup of the soup, beginning to drink the brew in his own. "There used to be a door, but it was sealed by stone and cement, over there. Now, the roof is the only way out. I've tried digging a hole in the sand, but it just ends at cement as well a couple of feet down. No ending to the wall and no opening that I can find. When I woke up, the hole was gone, and so was Drake."

"How long was Drake with you? He was reported missing three days-"

"He was only with me one day. He and I started fighting right away when he starting blaming me for everything that was happening. He hit me a couple of times and pushed me. We slept on opposite sides of the room, and when I woke up the next morning, Drake wouldn't wake up and there was breakfast there. I didn't really know what to do, but I was so thirsty that I drank the water he had given me. I passed out a while later, and when I woke up Drake was gone and there was a plate with a couple of treats on it."

"He was apologizing," Reid muttered to himself. Aurora looked over to him in confusion, the cup suspended right before her lips.

"Pardon?"

"Oh, um...from what we've found out about the unsub so far was that he thinks he's the son of Aphrodite, the Goddess." When Aurora nodded her head, silently telling him that she knew what he was saying, he continued. "He thinks that you're his sister, therefore a daughter of the Goddess, and he must find a match for someone of your love and beauty. Drake didn't meet the requirements for you, and because he hit you and fought with you he had to be removed so that the right match could be given to you. The treats must have been his way of apologizing for what Drake did to you while he was here," Reid quickly explained, placing his cup down for a moment as he was talking.

"If he thinks so highly of me, why does he keep me in a sand pit?" Aurora asked in confusion, raising a dark eyebrow.

"He probably does that because he assumes that love can blossom anywhere, even here. Also, Gods wouldn't need as much attention as humans, and he thinks you're the daughter of a Goddess, so, it fits."

Quickly finishing off the soup, Aurora continued to ask Reid about all of the small things that they had figured out, the young Dr hesitating before he told her about how they were considering the possibility that the unsub killed the couple after he was sure that they were right for one another. Aurora pulled the salad out of the box next, as well as two forks.

"You have that, you're in need of more food than I am right now," Reid carefully declined, getting a shy smile from Aurora.

"Are you sure? You're going to get tired fast down here." Reid smiled at her kindness, even though she had been stuck inside that round room over half a month. Instead, Reid pulled out one of the water bottles, making sure that the seal was still intact and there was no residue around the cap. Aurora started on with the salad, feeling guilty, even though he had assured that it was alright, that she was taking the food that was meant for Reid as well.

It seemed like it was far too fast before the candle beside them began to flicker as it reached the end of its wick, the flame going out completely before long. Aurora sighed quietly as the room was once more basked in darkness, leaving the woman to sit beside her new cell mate, trying to eat the last of the food quickly. Aurora was more relieved that she had been in a while when there was finally enough food inside her stomach to fill her.

"Since we've had solids and liquids, I'm sure that the question 'where's the bathroom' is going to come up. And I'm just going to say, pick a section and dig a hole," Aurora muttered as she placed the box with their apples and water aside, sitting back on the sleeping bag tiredly.

Reid looked over to the burnet through the darkness, only seeing basics of what she looked like with the lack of proper light. For her to have been there for three weeks, most of which she had spent alone, there was going to be a huge amount of post traumatic stress for her to deal with. He could see it the moment that he looked into her eyes. The fear of being alone, of being killed, of a lot of things. And when she got out, if she got out, she was going to be deal with nightmares, panic moments, paranoia, the list went on.

But she was strong, because she was still fighting. She was learning what the man did and become cautious of everything around her in order to survive it all. She had tried to escape at the first moment that she had the chance, and even though that had failed, it still meant that she wasn't ready to give in. But even if she didn't want to give in, there was still the worrying fact that she was sick. She needed proper, regular, meals. Fresh air and sunlight, warmth and a bed. Without the regular necessities for human life, she was going to die inside that room.

Reid stepped off to inspect the room for himself, getting a feel of it. It was a perfect circle, maybe with about a seven foot radius. While he was looking around the room, he could hear Aurora begin to unfold the sleeping bag the rest of the way for them to sleep on. Reid noticed her shivering heavily as soon as he returned to her side. Not even thinking long on the idea, he pulled his sweater off. He still had a long sleeved shirt at least, more than the small midriff top that she was wearing that literally only had one, tiny sleeve.

"Here, y-you should put this one, you'll be a l-lot warmer," Reid stuttered out quietly, offering her the sweater. Aurora looked between him and the warm article that he offered, her eyes wide and concerned.

"But, then you'll-"

"I've still got long sleeves, don't worry about me. You, on the other hand, will freeze if you don't put something on. Maybe this is one of the ways that he tries to figure out if the match it good, that I take care of you." The woman hesitantly took the sweater from Reid, whispering a 'thank you' quietly.

Reid couldn't help but glance down to her midriff as she pulled on the sweater, the taut skin stretching over the slim muscle that she had on her abdomen, made extremely visible because of the lack of any body fat on her. She shook her silky hair from her face, which she had told him had been oiled while the man cleaned her before, and adjusted the large sweater on her small frame. Smiling her thanks weakly, the two laid down carefully on either side of the sleeping bag, half a foot of space left awkwardly between them.

Reid knew that he wouldn't be able to fall asleep for a while and began to run through the profile in his head, listening to Aurora's breathing as it slowly evened out in sleep. Her shivering had stopped, but she was still curled up tightly in her sleep, her arms wrapped across her chest for warmth.

* * *

><p><strong>Deepest apologies for the long wait, there isn't really any excuse. Hope to get plenty of reviews! More Reid and Aurora sooner if I get lots! XP<strong>


	5. Message to the Real World

**Message to the Real World**

Spencer Reid woke slowly, his mind a fog of confusion. Warmth covered his right side, while his left was exposed to biting cold air. The chill in the room only seemed to worsen the staleness, as well as the darkness. Even with his eyes still closed, Reid knew that there was little to no light where he was. And when he finally did, he had hoped that the day prior had only been a dream—a nightmare. But the crack of light that shown between the wood shutters of the ceiling proved that everything that had happened had been very real.

Aurora.

Looking down to his right, he couldn't stop the heat that spread to his cheeks as he coloured, seeing Aurora clinging to his side, her face scrunched up in a frown. Her legs were tucked against his, pressed tightly together to try and both keep her warmth to herself, and steal his. Her hand clutched his white dress shirt, the long sleeve of his sweater bunching at her thin wrist. Her long brown hair was thrown back and away from her face, exposing her pale, bony complexion entirely in the small light illuminating the room.

Blinking a couple of times to adjust his eyes to the waking world, Reid took that moment to glance around the space. It seemed that it was day outside, since it was lighter in the space than it had been the night before, only supplied by a very weak incandescent bulb. At least he knew that there was a way to tell night and day apart, so long as light still reached through the holes of the metal grates in the upper chamber. Carefully detaching himself from her side, Reid moved away from the sleeping bag, glancing back when Aurora rolled over onto her side and curled up to keep warm, her back now facing him.

Taking care of a few personal problems as Aurora slept on, he was relieved that she had turned to face the wall and there wasn't a chance of her suddenly waking without having to roll over and give Reid some semblance of a warning. But the woman did not stir, and soon Reid had resumed his place on the sleeping bag, this time sitting up as he looked over to the pictures she had scratched onto the wall with stones.

Aurora shuffled around behind him, shivering dramatically against the cold as she curled her legs up closer to herself. Reid knew that if she continued to sleep while she was so cold she could succumb to hypothermia. But while she was sleeping, she couldn't feel the cold. Deciding that her future health was more important, Reid reached over and placed a hand on her bicep gently. The slightest brush of his hand on her arm caused her to jump, her eyes flying open.

"It's alright, it's only me!" Reid assured quickly, seeing her panicked state right away. She looked over to him, relaxing right away when she saw his face. He watched as she pulled herself up to sit properly, rubbing at her face gently as his sweater sleeves fell down her arms. Her hands were pale, the skin beneath her nails a pale blue colour.

"You really need to warm up, you should wrap up in the sleeping bag," Reid offered, getting a tired look of confusion from Aurora. "You could catch hypothermia, Aurora, you need to get warm."

"I'm wearing more clothes now that I had been when I came here, if I was going to catch hypothermia than I already would have," She muttered quietly, pulling herself to her feet and stumbling a moment when her legs were still asleep. Pausing a moment to let her legs adjust, she soon resumed walking and stopped at the box, opening the top to get an apple. Reid became concerned when she suddenly jumped back, one hand shooting to rest over her heart.

"What's wrong?" Reid asked as he got to his feet. Aurora pulled out a pink envelope from the box, raising her hand with the envelope and showing Reid the back, the symbol of Aphrodite imprinted in the paper.

"Should I open it?" She asked quietly. Reid reached forward slowly, taking the pink paper from her hand. Aurora watched as Reid ripped open the envelope, a small piece of white paper fluttering to the ground. He and Aurora shared a hesitant look before she knelt down and picked it up, seeing neat cursive scrawled on the paper, squinting in the dim light to read it. "_'Glad to see you two are getting along so well, I'm sure your friends will be relieved to see you both so happy together'_." She read aloud, looking up to Reid in confusion.

The burnet opened the envelope further, retrieving another piece of paper from inside. He moved backward to step into more direct light, squinting down at the paper. Aurora stepped through the sand, following after him to look at what was on the paper. A picture from an Instant Camera showed the both of them sleeping on the dark blue sleeping bag, Aurora half draped over Reid. Her arm was flung over his stomach, her leg hooked up onto his, her head on his shoulder, while Reid's face was buried in her long brown hair.

"He was in here while we slept," Aurora gasped quietly, her hand moving to cover her mouth in disgust. Reid knew that she was shocked and appalled from the fact that the man had been there without either of them being the wiser, but he couldn't get over the position that they had been in as they slept. He knew that she had been close to him for warmth when he woke up, but he wasn't expecting to see her nearly wrapped around his side. Then something clicked in his mind.

"He's sending pictures to people outside," Reid said suddenly, drawing Aurora's attention away from dark thoughts.

"Sending out pictures? Like that one? Oh, god," She muttered, covering her ears as though she could block out the world. "But I look like I'm trying to molest you in my sleep though!" Reid nearly choked on his own breath at her choice of phrasing, but digressed. Aurora seemed to catch onto his actions and mumbled a shy apology. "Why would he want to do that, wouldn't it jeopardize everything he's doing, cause him to get caught?"

"To show people that we were taken for good reasoning, is most likely," Reid explained easily, slipping the picture back inside the envelope, "He wants to show people he's not the bad guy. It's a way to cope with the guilt." Aurora sighed quietly and pushed her hands back through her hair, inhaling deeply through her nose.

"I am sorry about invading your space last night," She mumbled quietly, wrapping her arms around herself to try and warm her body. "I didn't know I would do that. When Drake stayed here we didn't sleep so close."

"It's alright, it's the body's natural reaction to move toward warmth subconsciously when you're cold. Beside, you're asleep, it's not like you can control what you do," Reid assured, offering a shy smile. The messy bed head didn't change how attractive she was, and his sweater hung on her shoulders, exposing a large portion of her collar to the open air. "It would be best to keep your chest warm; your arms will take care for themselves." Reid gently moved her arms, arranging them from where she had been trying to warm her biceps to wrap tightly around her chest, careful not to invade her person space too much.

"You seem to know a lot more than just human behaviour," Aurora said quietly as she looked up into his brown eyes. "You also seem so much smarter than someone of your years that I have ever met before."

"I have an eidetic memory," Reid replied, pushing his hands into his pockets as he looked toward the stone walls. "I also have an IQ of 187, and can read 20000 words per minute." Reid quickly answered, suddenly feeling that he was trying to impress her. Aurora's eyes had widened as he spoke, her lips parting in surprise.

"Are you serious? That's amazing. You really are a genius, huh?"

Reid let out a breathy laugh as he looked down to the sandy ground, suddenly feeling awkward at her praise. Aurora smiled to herself at the sudden withdrawal he had made after the complement, the shyness of a boy surfacing. Aurora knelt down to the box again and retrieved one of the apples, holding the second out to Reid. The tall male took the fruit from her with thanks. Aurora couldn't help but to notice the dirt underneath his fingernails as he did so, and knew right away why it was there.

Morgan groaned at the burning pain of his eyes as he tried to fight back fatigue. He and most of the team had been awake since Reid had been declared missing, searching through everything that they could to find somewhere that he and Ms. McNeil could be. He rubbed his eyes, shaking his head to clear his thoughts and focus. But it was getting difficult.

"Morgan, you need to get some sleep," Prentiss encouraged quietly, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Not until we find the kid, I won't let him end up like the other victims." Pulling himself up straight again, Morgan picked up the small note that had come with the body, one that he had read over enough times to memorize the words permanently. Pushing back his chair, he approached the board and pinned it next to the pictures of the last victim.

"Guys, something was delivered to Hotch early this morning," JJ called as she jogged into the room, holding out a bright red envelope. The seal had already been opened, meaning that she already knew what was inside. She was wearing blue gloves to prevent damaging any evidence. Prentiss was offered a pair as well before she opened the red paper and pulled out what looked like a picture. She looked over to Morgan, her eyes wide and confused.

"What is it?" He asked quietly, holding onto a glove to grab the picture instead of pulling it on entirely. He looked back up to the other two woman in shock the moment he saw who was in the picture. Reid and the woman they knew to be Aurora McNeil, the woman pressed to his side with his sweater on.

"This came with it," JJ said as she held out a note that was packaged in an evidence bag. Morgan snatched it up before Prentiss even had a chance. "'He had brought happiness to her, he gives her warmth and food, keeps her happy and peaceful. Mother will be pleased to have Her daughter in such high spirits when she joins Her. Love can blossom with all, happiness can reach every soul and soon, they will be together forever in deaths' embrace'. Damn it, he's going to kill them," Morgan cursed, dropping the bag and beginning to wipe at his face exhaustedly.

"We're running out of time," Hotch said as he walked inside, his face grim. "Reid must have told Ms. McNeil that the last victim died because he didn't fit well with her, so he must have instructed her to role-play into what the unsub wants from them. But because they seem like such a wonderful match to him, he's planning on killing them so that they can stay together."

"It's a lose lose scenario. If they don't match, Reid dies and she remains locked up. But if they are a good match, they both die." JJ's words were quiet, but they hung heavily in the room. "In the photo, it gives us a place that they're staying in. The conditions are worse than we thought; they're sleeping on only a blanket with sand on the ground."

"If Reid gave her his sweater than it must be cold where they are as well, maybe a basement?" Prentiss said as she took one of the free seats at the table, glancing over to Morgan. He was still looking intently at the photo, concern and confusion on his face as he looked at his nerdy socially awkward friend being held by an attractive woman.

"How long did he have the last two victims that were never found?" Hotch asked from the doorway, looking at the file in his hand as he flipped through the pages.

"Roughly two weeks," Prentiss said immediately, looking up to the photos of the man and woman that had never been found that was pinned to the evidence board.

"He cleaned her up," Rossi said suddenly, causing all eyes to turn to him. "In the picture, there's sand on the ground, she could have been dirty from living down there for so long. But she was clean, she had a white skirt on, her hair looked freshly washed." He continued on, taking the picture from the table. "He's cleaned her up for when he brought Reid in, almost like she was a gift to him."

"She could have fought back and there's wounds on the unsub," Morgan commented, leaning back heavily into his chair.

"Not if she was drugged; and with the way that he kills the rejected men, he clearly knows his way with them."


	6. Morbid Comparison

**Morbid Comparison**

Aurora McNeil watched as Reid paced around the room, muttering to himself about unsubs and victimology. She merely leant against the stone wall as she munched on her apple, Reid already having devoured his. She knew better than to bother someone while they were in such deep thought, and she actually found it pretty interesting to watch Reid as he thought over all he knew about the case. She was still bundled up in his sweater, her skirt wrapped around her legs like a blanket. She smiled slightly as Reid paused in his pacing, looking up around the ceiling as he continued to mutter, before he looked over to where Aurora was sitting and began to look sheepish, going silent.

"Sorry," He muttered, his cheeks colouring slightly in the dimly lit room. Aurora shook her head with a smile.

"That's alright, better to use the time you have in here to do something. I've been sitting in sand drawing on the walls, seems like you're doing far more than I am." Aurora dug a small hole in the ground with her foot, dropping her apple core into the sand with a small thud, before beginning to bury the apple.

"What about when Drake was here, you two didn't talk?"

"He wasn't really here for long, but when he was we didn't really get along. He blamed me, I yelled at him, we fought, we avoided one another. When we weren't fighting, we were just acting like the other wasn't there. I must say you're a breath of fresh air after Drake." Offering him a smile, Aurora pushed herself off of the wall and moved over to the sleeping bag to sit down. "It's kind of a morbid thought, comparing my prison mates." Aurora released a dry laugh as she fell to sit on the cold ground, not even the sleeping bag preventing the cool from the sand.

"Why don't we talk about something else instead of...uh...making morbid comparisons," Reid offered, moving to sit beside her slowly.

"Well, why don't you tell me about being an FBI agent, what's it like? What's it like for _you_?" Reid looked over to Aurora, surprised to see the curiosity on her face, sparking in her blue eyes. He couldn't help the smile that touched his lips as he began talking about life at the BAU, telling her about his life. Aurora listening intently as he spoke all about his friends, what they're like and things that have happened through the cases that they had helped police with.

"We actually once helped Prentiss when a friend of hers was killed and it turned out that it was a priest that thought he was doing an exorcism. He ended up killing his victim's because they were so stressed, causing heart attacks and brain aneurisms." The shocked look on Aurora's face nearly made Reid regret bringing up a killer, before Aurora spoke up.

"That's freaky, I didn't know that...there are actually people out there that think they're doing an exorcism?"

"There are a lot of people out there that have mental illnesses that cause them to think they have certain...importance in life. Such as people that we call an Angel of Death, they kill people-" Aurora suddenly held a hand up so that her finger was hovering inches away from his lips, effectively silencing Reid as his brown eyes widened.

"A little less about the killers, please, I don't really have the stomach for that sort of thing," Aurora whispered, offering a shy smile of embarrassment.

"Right, sorry," Reid mumbled, pushing his long bangs back from his face embarrassedly.

"Do you ever think about what else you would have done if you weren't an FBI agent?" Aurora asked, shifting around so that she was more comfortable. Reid paused a moment in thought, staring off at the far wall of the large, circular room. Aurora watched him quietly, noticing the soft smell of him that wafted from his sweater.

"Not really, I haven't had the chance. I guess I could have been a professor or something, but I didn't really think on it as much as most. When I started in the FBI, it just...fit," Reid answered finally, looking over to the woman beside him. "What about you? Have you always wanted to be an art teacher?"

"Not an art teacher really, but I've never really thought about anything outside of art. It was my greatest passion and talent growing up. Teacher seemed like the way to go with the decreased need for artists in the world these days. Everything's being replaced with computer animated work." Reid could see that she wasn't much of a computer person just by the look on her face.

"My friend Garcia, er...Penelope Garcia, she's the computer specialist on the team. She loves her computers like they are her children," Reid explained, a smile spreading across his face as he laughed quietly, remembering the times that Garcia had saved them with her computer skills. "She's great, you'd love her. She always tries to find the...good things in the world and she has trouble with some of the things that we work through."

Aurora gave a sad smile, nodding her head. "That makes since, I wouldn't be able to see so much...darkness in people. I work with young kids every day, some are troubled. I'll ask for a project of surreal art that could be anything as long as it's appropriate, and some will give me dark, death, and just frightening pictures. I always tell the school councillor, but there's only so much that even they can do." She glanced over to Reid to see that he was watching and listening intently. "But sometimes, those students are the best ones I have. Whatever's happening to them only seems to fuel their passion."

"They must be re-routing their pain into an art form. It could be a sign of abuse at home, from other students, or something that they had witnessed in their childhood, like the death of a parent," Reid explained carefully, getting a nod from Aurora. "But...those kids can always be helped."

The sound of the shutters opening caused both to look up toward the large opening in the ceiling, Aurora's entire body and posture tensing. Reid placed a gentle hand on her shoulder to let her know that he was there for her, but he kept his eyes on the opening. Once more, a box was lowered down on the hook on the chain.

"Come, sister, I have a gift for you," The man called down. Aurora looked over to Reid briefly, her bright blue eyes fearful, before she stood up from the sleeping bag. Her skirt spun around her legs as Reid's sweater hung down to almost her thighs. She was hesitant as she walked up to the box, carefully removing the ribbon wrapped around it to pull it off the hook. The chain began to rise against and Aurora looked up toward the small light that was hanging from the ceiling, seeing the man was still wearing the hood and scarf on his face. "I love you, sister, I promise to take care of you."

"Then let us go!"

The doors close again and masked the room in darkness, leaving the two to try and adjust to the dark again. Pushing away the rest of the ribbon, she opened the box carefully and peaked inside, beginning to walk over toward Reid.

"You've got to be kidding me," She muttered quietly, but the silence in the room allowed Reid to hear her perfectly well. She dropped down none too gracefully on the sleeping bag again, giving Reid the box as she turned her face away in anger and disgust. Reid looked down into the box to see what she had gotten to upset about. Reaching inside, he pulled out a bottle of expensive red wine, the seal still in place. "He can give us a bottle of wine to try and set a mood or something but we don't even get a bathroom?"

Reid put the bottle of wine aside and glanced down to the rest of the food in the box. Another thermos sat at the bottom of the box, the stainless steel shining up at them in the dim light. Instead of a vegetable salad like last time, there was a fruit salad sitting at the bottom of the box. Melons, barriers, grapes, all mixed in a glass dish with a seal on the top.

"There's no water," Aurora mumbled, leaning forward and squinting through the darkness. Reid nodded his head, even though he knew that she wouldn't see it, before he pulled out the thermos to inspect what was inside. A thick vegetable stew with an amazing aroma that caused Aurora to lean forward impulsively so she could take in a deep breath of it. "Is it bad to admit that that smells amazing?" she asked shyly, glancing up at Reid. He smiled assuredly and shook his head.

"You've been deprived of the foods you love, it's normal to react strongly when you're given something you used to enjoy a lot." Nodding her head, Aurora reached into the box and pulled out one spoon and bowl. "I guess we share?"

"Looks like it, there nothing else to eat the salad with," She answered quietly, lifting the glass bowl from the box. They emptied all the contents from the box, leaving the wine bottle and glasses inside, before the moved over to sit against the wall on their sleeping bag and eat. The bowl of fruit sat between them and the thermos sat to the side, closed once more.

Aurora supressed a moan of delight when she took the first bite of the thick stew, instead, silently relishing in the wonderful taste on her tongue. After she got a mouthful of chopped beans, potato, carrot and spices, she handed the bowl over to Reid, letting him eat his own share.

Reid couldn't help but feel his face heat up in a blush at the thought of sharing a utensil with someone else. Taking his time as he took a spoonful of vegetables, he saw Aurora reach down to the bowl of fruit and carefully take a grape, making sure she didn't accidentally touch any of the others. Neither of them were able to wash their hands, so they were sure to be careful about touching what they weren't eating.

"At least he used fresh food, this is actually really good," Aurora complimented quietly, chewing a piece of Honey Dew Melon, her eyes falling to her lap. Reid frowned at the action. She was clearly ashamed at saying anything positive about the man that was holding the both of them there.

"It is, here, have some more." He couldn't try to confront her about it, she might push him away, so the best he could do was show she wasn't alone. Holding out the refilled bowl of stew to her, Aurora's blue eyes met his brown ones through the darkness, a small smile touching her lips as she took the bowl and spoon from him. Reid let himself indulge in the fruit as she took the stew, letting silence fall between them.

Not long after the thermos was emptied and there was barely any fruit, only a couple of slices of celery and apple left inside the bowl, Aurora began to try and hide her yawns. Reid himself had been trying to stop himself from yawning for some time, but the burnet at his side had cracked first, even if she tried to hide it from him.

"You should get to sleep, you'll get sick more easily if you don't have enough energy to fight it off," Reid finally stated, getting a shy look from Aurora as she covered her mouth to hide another yawn. Before she could protest, Reid moved the food off the sleeping bag and into the box, silently winning the argument. By the time Reid had turned his attention back to Aurora, she had lain down on the sleeping bag and had curled in on herself.

"I was just thinking of something," She began quietly, fatigue lacing her tone. Now that she was full and comfortable, she was falling fast. "What if he comes back tonight?" She asked quietly, her eyes glancing up toward him. Reid paused at her words as he realised that she was right. There was a very strong possibility that he may come back.

"I have an idea," He said suddenly, finding a stone inside the sand and walking up toward the wall behind the sleeping bag, which would be caught inside the photo no matter what if the unsub was trying to get them both in the picture. Aurora sat up carefully and looked at him in confusion, her eyes following his form in the darkness. "What are you sure of where we are?"

"Spencer, what-?"

"We could send my team a message. Write discretely on the wall for them to see, hints to where they can find us or about the unsub." Aurora seemed to awaken at the words he spoke and pulled herself up.

"We have to make sure they aren't overly noticeable, but are you sure they'll see the message?"

"It's our job to notice things that other people wouldn't, trust me, they'll see. Now, I need for you to tell me everything you know about the unsub, what you've seen, what he's done, anything. You said that he had green eyes, was nearly six feet and had tan skin, is there anything else?" Aurora seemed to stutter and try to keep up with Reid's sudden fast pace speech, her hands raising as though to protect herself.

"N-no, I don't..there's nothing." Reid began to write the details along the brick creases, the words small but legible. He squinted in the dark to make sure that he was doing it right, Aurora still sitting behind him.

"And the walls looked like an expensive hotel?"

"Yea, either that or some kind of spa."

Reid paused at her words, causing Aurora to try and see what he was doing. "A spa?" He mumbled to himself, his brows drawing down in thought as his mind sorted through the map of the town that he had looked at back at the station.

* * *

><p><strong>I am so sorry that this hasn't been updated for a while(and I mean a <em>while<em>) but I've had so much crap going on. However, I am going to be catching up on all of my stories so please don't give up hope on me just yet! **


	7. Loss of Time

**Loss of Time**

Aurora woke first the next morning—or whatever time of day it truly was—and the first thing that she realized was that she felt like she was on fire. Sitting up from where she had been reclined across Reid's chest, the thought bringing her cheeks to a greater burn, she quickly shed the sweater that Reid had given her to keep her warm. Looking around the space of their dark prison, she saw that a new box sat in the center of the circular room, causing her already fast heartbeat to speed up. Pulling herself up from the sleeping bag, she stumbled toward the box, falling to her knees when a large wave of dizziness struck her. Stopping before the box, she pulled off the ribbon that kept the lid closed and lifted the top of the box cautiously.

A lone card sat in the box in a pink envelope, small and thin. Picking up the card with a shaking hand, she opened the envelope quietly and pulled out a small camera photo from inside. Once again, the photo was of her and Reid lying together as they slept. This time, Reid had pulled her back up to his chest so they were in a loose spooning position. Aurora felt her face heat up slightly at the picture, but didn't think too much on the position that she and Reid were sleeping in and more on the fact that Reid's writing of the word spa was visible behind them, but not overly noticeable—she could only hope this Garcia friend of his was as good as he claimed with her computers.

Getting to her feet, Aurora groaned in discomfort when the room around her spun, her body crumpling back to the floor. Placing a hand on her forehead to try and collect her bearings, she jumped when there was a touch to her shoulder, looking back to see the form of Reid in the darkened room.

"Are you alright?"

"He…he left another photo," she whispered, holding the image out to Reid. He bypassed the picture and placed the underside of his forearm against her forehead, frowning in concern when he felt the temperature of her skin.

"You're running a fever," Reid mumbled quietly, helping her to her feet carefully and guiding her back to the makeshift bed they had been using. Ignoring her protests, Reid helped her to pull on the sweater that he lent her. "You need to stay warm, you might feel hot but it'll help for you to keep covered," he explained easily as he pulled the sweater tight around her arms.

"The photo, do you think she'll see?" Reid took the photo from her shaking hand, looking down at it closely in the darkness.

"You just have to have faith, everything's going to be alright," he assured gently, moving to lean up against the wall beside her. He restrained from jumping when she suddenly pulled herself toward him, leaning against his side as she rested her head on his shoulder. Her skin was hot against his from the fever, but he knew that in time she was going to start feeling colder and colder. If they didn't get out of that place soon she might catch pneumonia.

"I want to go home," Aurora mumbled quietly, her voice cracking as she held back tears. Reid wrapped an arm awkwardly around her shoulders, resulting in her head sliding further along his shoulder until she was nearly leaning on his neck, and tried his best to comfort the female at his side.

"We're going to get out of here, Aurora, I promise." Stroking his hand along her arm, he didn't get a response from her as she lay silently with him. Her strength and fighting spirit were waning, and he felt there was nothing he could do. She had been trapped in here for close to a month with no light, pour meal schedule, no hygiene products and barely any human contact. Between the last male and himself, she had only ever had the killer as her concubine.

But he began to panic when only a couple of hours later her fever worsened.

"You know," Aurora mumbled from where her face was buried in his shoulder. "I probably would have asked you out if we had met under normal circumstances." Reid was shocked by her confession, but he also knew that the fever was beginning to screw with her mind.

"Really?" he asked quietly, just wanting to play along and try his best not to upset her. "Thanks."

"'Thanks'?" she looked up at him, pulling away from the embrace she had trapped him in in the process. "What's that supposed to mean? You don't get asked out a lot?"

"Not really, no," he admitted, a blush of shame coloured his pale cheeks. Through the darkness, Aurora's eyes were filled with shock. Before he had a moment to react to her quick movement, a quick kiss had been placed on his lips, before the weight resumed its place on his shoulder. He was left stiff and tense, wondering what had just happened.

_Transference_, his mind supplied. But he couldn't seem to stop the sudden erratic beating of his heart from the small contact of lips that she had instigated.

"She looks really unhealthy," Prentiss commented as she look at the photo that hung on the evidence board, already a photocopy having been sent to Garcia to scan it through. "Her lips are blue," she pointed out, squinting at the photo.

"That poor child," the Police Chief mumbled to himself, running his hand over his face as he looked at the evidence. The two pictures of Reid and Aurora McNeil sat side by side.

"We'll find her, Chief, we'll find both of them," Morgan assured, determination in his tired eyes. A chime from the computer on the table had him turning his attention to the screen just as Garcia's face appeared.

"Please tell me you found something," JJ said quietly as she came to stand behind Morgan.

"_Better, I found _them_. With a bit of Reid's help_," she answered, smiling at them. The most recent image of Reid and Aurora appeared on the screen, zooming in toward the background. "_They left a clue. They must know that he was taking pictures of them somehow. Look." _Morgan leaned forward to examine the picture.

"Spa?"

"_Yea, so I started looking around the area that the body was left and where Aurora McNeil was taken and I found that there's an abandoned Spa that was shut down because of bad construction and the use of faulty materials. The owner still lives there today."_

"A name?"

"_Jonas Alfred Duane, and I've already done a background check on him. Get this, the guy dropped out of university shortly after entering and his major was Ancient Architecture."_ Morgan nodded his head and looked over the picture that she had brought up on the screen, before she continued, "_I also looked at the blueprints of the Spa, and it doesn't have a basement that they could be held in, _but_ there is a large storage room on the roof of the building. It's circular."_

"That's all I need," Hotch said from across the table, flipping out his phone and nodding to the Police Chief, who was already walking out to get his team ready. Morgan and Prentiss began to get ready themselves, pulling on their FBI issued Kevlar vests, sliding their guns into the holsters under their arms or on their belts.

A team was soon ready to take off, a mix of FBI and police agents heading straight toward the Spa just outside the town. Morgan and JJ took one truck with Hotch, Rossi and Prentiss in the second. The Spa was only a couple of minutes away when the traffic parted for them to pass, allowing them to get their quickly.

"Let my men go in first to make sure the area's clear," the Police Chief said as he walked over, but Hotch shook his head before he could even continue.

"I've got a team member in there as well, we're going in." The Chief looked about to protest, before he just nodded his head and walked back toward his crew to tell them to fall back behind the BAU agents. Morgan and Hotch took lead into the building, guns drawn. They didn't know if the man would be armed or not, but they weren't taking any chances.

Reid woke to a horrible pounding in his head, moving to try and message his temples when he found his wrists bound. Opening his eyes to blindingly bright lights he was forced to close his eyes when his retinas burned from the light. Trying to move his legs, he found that they were bound too and that he was lying on a cold surface.

"Good, you're awake." The voice was familiar and caused Reid to jump, his eyes opening again and fighting against the pain as he looked around to try and find the person who had spoken. The man was dressed in his robes still, standing in the far corner of the room while he worked with a needle, taking in a certain amount of a liquid from a small vile.

Another look around the room told him that Aurora wasn't there.

"You will see her soon enough," he assured once he saw Reid looking around. He put the needle down on the table that he was working at, turning toward Reid for a moment. "I am proud of you, Spencer Reid. You've made her happy."

"She will never be happy after this," Reid said back, his head still pounding. "You've taken everything from her. Her life, her health and her will to live." He could see the man tense from across the room before he marched away, leaving Reid alone. He was lying on a table, his wrists bound behind his back with his ankles strapped together and tied down to the table so he couldn't try and hop away.

Lying where he was, he tried to pull his hands free, but his muscles were still weak from the drug that he had been given and he was left to struggle in vain. He took pause when he heard something from outside the building. Sirens.

"Hotch!" Reid yelled at the top of his lungs, looking toward the door that the men had exited through. "Hotch! Morgan!" His throat was sore from a lack of water and his voice was scratchy as he screamed, but he still tried. "Rossi! Prentiss!"

Pulling harder on his restrains, he could feel his heart beginning to pick up. He was going after Aurora and if he heard that the police and FBI were here then he might decide to kill her. Letting out an angered cry he tried harder to pull on his bindings but he couldn't even get one hand out of the ropes that were holding him in place.

"Morgan!" he screamed again, feeling tears prick his eyes. He had promised her that everything was going to be alright. He promised her, "Hotch!"

"Reid!"

The voice was distant, but he would know it anywhere.

"Morgan!" he yelled again, his voice nearly dying at the end. The door handle moved a moment later, but it had been locked by the man. But that wasn't enough to hold back Morgan as he kicked the door, the boom resounding through the space, a second kick and the lock gave way and the door flew open, banging against the wall and denting the plaster.

Reid looked over to see Morgan step into the room, his gun ready.

"The roof, he went to the roof," Reid said, desperately trying to get them to keep going. "He went for her, he's going to kill her!"

"Hotch," Morgan said sternly, looking up to the supervisory agent.

"I've got McNeil," Hotch called from the hall as he took off, his gun still ready. Reid wiggled from where he was on the table, straining against the binds. Morgan holstered his gun and rushed over to untie the agent, working on his hands first.

"You're alright, Reid. Hotch will get her, there's no way that guy can get out. The entire building's surrounded," Morgan explained as he pulled out the knots around Reid's wrists. He moved down to his feet as soon as the first set were open, allowing Reid time to adjust his arms and move out of the uncomfortable position he had been forced into.

"I promised her that everything would be fine," Reid choked out, his voice hoarse and pained.

Morgan helped Reid to sit up, holding him by the shoulders and forcing him to look him in the eye, "She will be okay, Reid." Reid's body was bonier than usual, his cheeks hollowed out slightly from the lack of a proper diet with a paler tinge to it. Morgan was slightly fearful for his friend because of the look of death that seemed to hang onto him.

"Morgan!" Prentiss called from down the hallway, her footfalls hitting the floor loudly as she ran. Morgan helped Reid to get off of the table, letting him keep an arm around one of his shoulders to support himself when the poor circulation to his feet made him waver. Prentiss appeared in the doorway a moment later, her black pony tail flicking around her face. She froze at the sight of the brunette and smiled, moving forward to greet him and pull him into a hug.

"You're alright."

**And the team has arrived! Please review, it is always so wonderful to hear from my readers :)**


	8. Impervious

**Impervious**

Aurora let out the shrillest scream that her unhealthy lungs and vocal cords could produce. She kicked and clawed, shrieked and bit but she couldn't get herself free from the grip that her captor had on her arms. He stood behind her, hauling her through the abandoned halls. She had awoken in the room above the one she and Reid had been locked in and had tried to run for her life but stumbled and fell.

Blood dripped onto the floor and her dress, staining the already dirtied material from a large scrape on her arm. The man behind her showed no sign of agitation toward her fighting, he seemed sullen.

"Let me go!" she screamed, her voice cracking from abuse.

"Silence, all will be well soon."

"Help!" she screamed throughout the abandoned building, tugging her arms and trying to dig her feet down and stop his forward momentum. She knew what was coming. He was going to kill her. She didn't even know if Reid was still alive or not, he wasn't around when she had woken up. "_Help!_" A sudden turn and a weightlessness overtook her before she crashed harshly back down to Earth. She looked up in time to see the baths a few yards away.

She was back inside the bathroom.

"No!"

She crawled along the floor to try and escape, but the door was thrown shut and locked before she could even get close enough. She screamed again when he turned toward her, looking nearly rushed as he quickly approached her. Rolling onto her back and beginning to throw tired kicks at the male that was approaching her. She was nearly in tears and screaming hysterically as she tried to kick the man away from her.

"You will be with Mother soon, my dear," he said in what he must had assumed was a reassuring tone, but Aurora just wanted to be gone and was doing her best to kick and wiggle away from the man that was plotting to kill her and Spencer.

"I don't want to go anywhere! I don't want to go and see this Mother you keep talking about!" She screamed so loudly her throat burned. The man easily pushed her tired legs aside when she went to kick him again, her skirt falling open in the process. He took hold of her sides and picked her up, nearly losing his grip when she continued to wiggle and struggle. "Spencer!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

The cold tiling disappeared from beneath her, making her fight harder than ever before. She swung her arms and torso around, driving her left elbow into his nose after a moment of wild swinging. He cried out in pain from the hit, releasing her from his grip. She gasped when her legs hit the hard flooring, but from her waist up continued to fall until she hit water. She let loose a scream before she could think to hold her breath and her head went under, her lungs fighting to take an inhale after the scream and taking in a large rush of water. A hand enclosed around her ankle, pulling her roughly toward the bearer.

Her vision blacked for a moment as she fought to release the water from her lungs, feeling the burning of the water in her lungs and down her throat. Her hands hit the wall and she began to claw at it desperately, trying to find some sort of solid surface to pull herself up from the water, to free herself.

She was tugged from the water a moment later, her hair falling into her face and blocking her view. She coughed and sputtered, water dripped down her face as it was dispelled from her lungs. She could hear the man begin to mumble something in Latin in her ear, sounding almost apologetic, before she was pushed right back under the water. Her hands rose up to the hand that was holding her head and began to claw with her nails, trying her best to get herself free.

"_Spencer!"_ She screamed inside of her mind, wishing that he were there. He could do something, he would try anything. She knew that it was the type of person he is and she loved that about him.

Her lungs still burned from the water she had taken in before, but they were straining for air as he head was held beneath the water. She continue to fight against the grin on her hair, but his fingers were tangled in the long strands and no matter how much she kicked and squirmed and tried to get back above the water nothing changed.

Holding her breath for as long as she could, her face had probably been red by the time she gave in and took an intake of the water inside the bath. Her body jerked in shock at the intake of water, her vision blackened again and her body seized in shock. Her grip on the hand holding her under the water loosened until it had released entirely. _"Spencer…"_

Hotch ran hard toward the screaming that was coming from down the long stretch of hallway, trying to find the correct door. The screaming suddenly cut short, making him nearly desperate. Footsteps behind him told him that Morgan was back, the both of them beginning to open doors as they searched for Aurora McNeil. Morgan soon encountered a locked door for the second time that day. He motioned over to the Supervisory Agent, moving back from the door and preparing to kick it in.

Slamming his foot forward with as much force as he could muster, the door flew open on the first try, thrown back against polished tiles. He and Hotch kept their guns raised as they stepped into the room cautiously, looking toward where a man was kneeling before a bath, his hands crossed on his chest as he muttered to himself. He seemed almost horrified.

"Put your hands up," Morgan ordered in an even tone, stepping toward the man in the robes. He didn't say a thing, didn't acknowledge their presence and only continued to mutter to himself. Morgan stepped up until he was behind the man and forcedly took hold of his hands, pushing the man down onto his stomach and pulling his hands behind his back. He froze at the sight of brown hair floating in the bath water.

"Hotch!"

The elder man rushed forward, holstering his gun as he did so, and knelt beside the bath. Reaching into the warm water, he clasped onto a bare, pale arm and pulled. She was light and moved through the water easily, rising back to the surface. Morgan pulled the man aside, tugging off the hood and scarf to expose the man's face. His nose looked broken and blood was splattered on his face and the scarf, more than likely caused by Aurora struggling to free herself.

Hotch pulled the woman up onto the cold flooring around the bath, the water that had drenched her clothing spilling out onto the flooring and wetting his pants as he knelt beside her. Moving the hair from her face, he checked for breathing and a pulse, finding neither, before he moved back and began to press onto her chest in timed compressions.

Morgan was speaking into his com in the background as he counted the compressions in his head, his jaw locking in place when he felt and heard her ribs crack beneath his hands. Her ribcage was easily visible through her skin, so the broken bones would probably be visible as well. Moving away from her chest, he tipped her head back and closed the airways from her nose, opened her mouth and bent to blow air into her lungs. Her chest rose and fell, before the air was released when she relaxed again, still unresponsive.

Hotch began to repeat the compressions, the sounds of other officers and agents rushing into the room not even causing him to waver. He counted off in his head, soon moving to tip her head back and give her air again. Nothing.

"Come one Aurora."

"Breathe, Aurora. You just need to breathe."

Morgan watched, sullen, as Hotch continued to try and revive the woman. He turned to face the door, only looking away when he heard Reid's voice yelling from the hallway, soon followed by Prentiss. Reid rushed through the open doorway not a moment later, Rossi quickly stopping him from getting any closer when he saw Hotch performing CPR.

Reid seemed to wilt and buckle at the sight of Aurora so unresponsive, Rossi the only thing keeping him on his feet. Morgan handed the unsub over to Prentiss and a group of officers, moving over to Reid. He wasn't taking his eyes off of Aurora as he stood still and unresponsive in Rossi's arms.

"Reid, man, you need to leave," Morgan tried to say. But in that moment, Aurora's body jerked as water broke up from her lungs, a harsh cough filling the otherwise silent room. Hotch rolled her onto her side gently as she continued to cough, water quickly dispelling from her airways. Reid nearly leapt forward, his bare feet slipping on the floor until he was on his knees beside her. He pushed the hair from her face as she opened her eyes, flinching back at the first contact before she saw who was before her. She continued to cough in pain, but Reid took her hand and held it, supporting her head with his other hand.

She wasn't wearing his sweater anymore, the white of her clothes slightly see through and stuck to her form because of the water. Her lips were nearly blue against her already pale skin and her body was trembling with the effort of staying upright.

"I promised you everything was going to be alright," he said carefully, seeing her smile tiredly.

"Reid," Morgan said as he came over to them and placed a hand on his shoulder gently, "The paramedics are on their way up. You're going to have to let them take her down."

"Morgan," Aurora mumbled, startling the Agent for a moment as he looked down to see that she was smiling up at him as well. "Spencer's told me so much about you." Morgan smiled back to her reassuringly, placing a hand on her trembling shoulder.

"It's nice to meet you, Miss. McNeil. You're going to be home soon, alright?"

"I'd like that."

Aurora was soon wrapped up in warm, dry blankets and placed on a stretcher to be wheeled out to the ambulance. Reid followed closely by her side, holding her hand as the EMT's wheeled her down the hallway. He was given permission to ride in the ambulance with her since he too was going to have to be emitted into the hospital. Aurora was already asleep by the time they reached the elevator, but Reid continued to hold her hand as he walked at her side, watching her face as she slept. She seemed peaceful, her hand loose in his and her body relaxed at last. He remembered that she had always been tense when she was going to sleep before.

"Hey, Reid," Morgan called as he jogged after his friend, stopping him right before he stepped up into the ambulance. A blanket had been given to him, wrapped around his shoulders by a tearful JJ. "What happened between the both of you," he started, looking over to where Rossi and Hotch were talking. "I know that something's there, Reid. Whatever happened to you guys is between the two of you. She's going to need you after this, man. She's going to need you more than any other person out there."

Reid smiled, nodding his head. He knew.

"You probably won't be complaining, though," Morgan added on, clapping a gentle hand on Reid's boney shoulder. "Go be with your girl."

"She's not-"

"Just go, Reid."

**They're saved! Clever Morgan, putting all the pieces together :P I'll have the next one out as soon as I can, sorry for the delay. Please let me know what you think! **


	9. Distant Dreams

**Distant Dreams**

Aurora woke up to a steady beeping sound filling the background of her mind. She squirmed against itchy bandages and a prick in her arm, but otherwise felt completely at ease. She wished that the irritating sound would disappear; she wasn't accustomed to waking up with any sound. It had always been silent in the strange cylindrical room that she had been imprisoned in for the past month. But why would that be different today?

"Aurora?"

_Spencer,_ she thought tiredly. She was relieved that she wasn't alone. She didn't like being alone in the dark space, she liked the warmth that he gave her at night. She liked being able to speak with him through the days and keep herself sane and attached to the real world.

"Aurora, wake up."

_But it's cold_, she thought, remembering the freezing temperatures that she had woken to. She always dreaded the first couple of minutes after waking up, they were the coldest. While she was sleeping she didn't need to worry about feeling cold.

"Please, Aurora," Reid whispered again, a light brush on her forehead making her calm down slightly from her rising panic. His hands were warm.

"Spencer?" she mumbled, finally finding her voice. It was rough and sounded like she had been swallowing sandpaper. Why? What had happened while she was sleeping?

"Aurora," His voice rose slightly and the touch on her forehead disappeared for a moment before the warmth surrounded her hand, his fingers lacing through her own. She squeezed his hand back to the best of her abilities, but her muscles didn't seem to want to respond to her silent command. "Come on, Aurora, say something else."

"I'm tired," she mumbled, turned her head in the direction of Reid's voice. "It's so warm." She almost felt like crying, the feel of his warm hand and the heat that had appeared in their prison bringing her a strange sense of happiness. It all had to be a dream, there was no way that she could be warm and comfortable while locked away in hell.

"Aurora, you're going to be just fine," Reid assured gently, squeezing her hand again. "Aurora, you need to open your eyes."

Spencer Reid leaned his head against the hand that he was holding, his eyes closing as he felt them burn with the need to cry. He needed her to wake up, she just had to wake up. She had fought through everything else; she could beat hypothermia and pneumonia. A tired squeeze against his hand made his head snap up to Aurora's face, but she showed no other outward sight of consciousness. The last time she had spoken was nearly an hour before and then gone silent.

"Aurora," he whispered to her as he moved up to her head, his other hand moving to move hair that had fallen into her face whenever she moved in her sleep. "Aurora, I'm right here. You're safe now." She didn't show any sign that she had heard him, her grip on his hand slack again and her body unresponsive to his voice.

"Reid," Hotch said from the doorway, making the younger Agent turn to face his superior. "You need your own rest. She'll wake up when she's ready," he said softly, stepping into the room to walk up to stand next to his. "Come on, I doubt she'd be happy to know that you pushed aside your own recovery to stay with her. You said so yourself, she's safe now. You can leave her alone for a while."

"What if she wakes up, I want her to see a familiar face-"

"You'll be notified, Reid. Come on."

Reid is slowly led away from Aurora's side by Hotch, Morgan and JJ waiting outside of the room for him. They guided him down to the room that he had been given while he stayed at the hospital, down the hall from Aurora's. It was much too far away for his liking, but he wouldn't openly admit that to any of the group. He shouldn't be feeling something so strongly for someone else that was technically a part of the case he had been working on.

"You can have feelings for her, Reid," JJ whispered after the guys had left, leaving them alone for a moment. "You won't get in trouble. Because you were taken you're not considered to have worked the case and won't face repercussions of any kind."

"I don't think she'll ever accept anyone after all of this."

"I think," JJ said softly, offering him a small smile, "That you might just be the only person she can accept after what she's been through."

"She kissed me," Reid said quietly after a moment, leave JJ to look at him in shock. Her already large blue eyes widened further at the news. She immediately sat down on the chair beside his bed as Reid perched on the edge of the hospital cot. "It was the day you guys found us. She had a fever and-"

"Spence," JJ interrupted, holding up her hand. "None of that matters now. Right now, she needs people to be there for her. You know that she's going to be dealing with a lot of issues when she wakes up. And she will wake up. You need to be there for her just like she'll be there for you." Reid opened his mouth to comment on her working but she held her hand up to silence him. "Just trust me, Spence."

Reid laid in his bed hours later, unable to fall asleep as he thought over everything that he had confessed to JJ. He had begun to rattle off all of the excuses about why she had kissed him, but he hadn't told her that Aurora had also confessed to wanting to date him, had they met under different circumstances. He finally began to doze when midnight rolled around, the sounds of the hospital staff fading away into the background of his mind.

Aurora mumbled loudly in her sleep as she shivered, throwing her head to the side. Cold sweat covered her skin and caused the sheets that covered her to stick to her arms and torso. Her bangs were glued to her forehead from the salty fluid, mixing with the tears that dropped down from the corners of her eyes.

A nurse walked quickly but quietly into the room, a look of worry on her features. The young woman that lay on the bed was mumbling words incoherently, her hands clutching so tightly at the blankets that her knuckles were turning white, the tendons appearing beneath the skin.

"Honey, wake up," the nurse whispered softly, gently touching the clammy skin of her right arm. The woman jerked so violently with a scream that was loud enough to wake the dead that the nurse stumbled back and nearly collided with a chair.

Aurora continued to scream and cry, folding herself into the foetal position on her side. The fever was gripping her with a near deadly hold, causing her to tremble and sweat, scream and thrash. The head nurse quickly hit the call button by the bed and moved to Aurora again, refraining from touching her again.

She didn't expect to see a young man run into the room, dressed as a patient of the hospital, looking panicked and in a rush. She opened her mouth to tell him to leave, but before she had a chance he was already at Aurora's side, taking hold of one of her fisted hands and whispering to her quietly. The nurse drew back in surprise when the young girl already began to calm down, still crying heavily but no longer screaming and trying to thrash away.

"Sir-"

"Please," Reid said as he looked up at her, nearly as desperate as the woman crying in the bed. "I can help her, just don't make me leave." She wanted to try and make him return to his own room, but she knew that she also didn't have the heart to do so. "Please."

"You can stay here for a short while, but you can't stay all night," she assured, getting a tired smile from him. She recognized him as the man that had come in with the woman earlier that day. She turned to leave, only glancing back to see the man as he leaned close and whispered to her quietly, running his fingers gently along the back of her hand, his fingers caressing between her knuckles and tendons, relaxing her tense hands.

She quietly waved off the other two nurses that were heading from the floor desk to assist her, assuring them that they weren't needed anymore, that the situation had been taken care of.

Aurora continued to hold onto his hand even as she relaxed back into sleep, her fingers curled around his own. Her skin was hot to the touch and moist with sweat, the bangs that had fallen into her face still sticking to her forehead. Reid looked over her pale complexion with sadness, his fingers still stroking along the back of her hand.

Derek Morgan stepped through the halls of the hospital with a fresh cup of coffee in his hand and his best friend's go-bag in the other. He smiled and nodded to nurses that passed him, causing them to smile back, blush and look away. He turned the corner to Reid's room within minutes of entering the hospital and stopped just inside the room. No Reid.

The bathroom door was open and the bed was empty, so he clearly wasn't in the room. Placing the bag on the chair beside the bed, he grinned to himself before turning to head out of the room, knowing exactly where it was that he needed to go. Just down the hallway, his questions were answered. Reid was holding one of Aurora's hands in his own with his head resting on their intertwined hands. Aurora was turned on her side, facing Reid, with a peaceful look on her face, even though her skin was still sickly pale, bruises beneath her eyes and bones showing beneath her skin.

"He's been there since almost mid-night," a sweet voice said behind him. Morgan turned to look over his shoulder at the nurse that had been attending to Aurora since she arrived at the hospital. "Fell asleep sometime around dawn."

"What happened?"

"She was having a nightmare, screaming and thrashing in her sleep. She wouldn't let anyone touch her; I called for some help so we could sedate her before she injured herself. He came in before the other nurses arrived and she calmed down almost instantly," the nurse explained, clearly shocked at what she had seen the night before. "He stayed with her and spoke to her until she had calmed down again. Even then he didn't leave. I couldn't get him to go back to his room."

Morgan chuckled to himself, shaking his head in disbelief. "I'll take care of him, don't worry. How's Ms. McNeil?"

"She's doing much better, actually. It's still undecided of when she'll wake up, but her body's getting all of the nutrition that it needs. All that can be done now is to wait."

The nurse quickly moved off to her other patients, leaving Morgan to wake up Boy Genius. He placed his coffee on the nightstand beside Reid before he carefully touched his friend's shoulders. The younger man immediately jolted awake, his hands clutching Aurora's hand for a second before he realized where he was. He looked over to Morgan drowsily, wincing at the kink that had formed in his neck through the night.

"Hey, pretty boy, I heard you spent the night here," Morgan started as he leaned against the arm of the chair that Reid was sitting in while the younger stretched and tried to wake himself up. Reid's face showed how tired he truly was, the dark skin beneath his eyes and the hollowed look that they held an unsettling sight. Morgan knew that Reid never forgot what he saw, and it often left the young man troubled and distraught. Never able to forget the sight of Aurora McNeil near death very well might scar him. Although, there is always the chance that she could help to him hide those memories away, replace them with new ones.

**The power of a simple voice and touch. Reid's got it.**

**I'm on an updating spree, so I thought I give a treat and update Son of Aphrodite as well. I also heard a James Blunt song and immediately thought of Criminal Minds. :P Does that happen to any of you?**


	10. Mindful Puzzle

**Mindful Puzzle**

Aurora's head felt like a fuzzy television screen, unsure of what exactly it was that was going on around her. Every noise that she heard sounded off in some kind of way, every touch felt like a static shock. She didn't want to move, she didn't want to breathe or think or feel. She didn't know what was going on, there were noises all around her, foreign and confusing, and her head just wouldn't concentrate long enough for her to process what was going on.

"Aurora," a male voice said softly, a gentle touch on her hand feeling like pins and needles against her skin. She jolted at the contact, her hand and arm flinching back at the feel. The hand disappeared a moment before reappearing at her elbow, her name whispered into her ear.

_Go away_, she wanted to say, _I'm too tired_. She turned her head slightly toward the person until her ear was pressed against the pillow and she couldn't hear them whisper anymore. But she could still hear through her other ear. More voices began to whisper about, filling the room and deafening her. Her cheeks felt hot as she tried to fall back asleep, the discomfort making her squirm under the uncomfortable sheets.

A hand slipped under hers and gripped her palm gently, loosely. "Aurora, if you can hear me, squeeze my hand." She wanted them to go away; she didn't want to squeeze their hand or to hear them anymore. She was tired, sore and her head was pounding. She felt feverish and her skin was sensitive against their touch. She just wanted to sleep. "Please, Aurora."

The muscles in her arm twitched before her fingers closed around the other person's hand, gripping it in a weak hold for a moment before going limp again. Her arm felt too tired to do anything else. The hand squeezed back for a moment, her arm being lifted and her hand pressed against something smooth.

"Aurora, open your eyes," the voice said, higher and more acute as they tried to get her attention. "Please, open your eyes for me."

_You're so familiar,_ she thought dazedly, wondering who the person was. Why were they talking to her? Where was she? She took in a deep breath, feeling the distant urge to yawn in the back of her jaw. She exhaled loudly and her hand gripped the other person's again, this time more tightly.

"Just open your eyes for me, Aurora, please."

The voice was getting fuzzy, distant. At the same time, however, it seemed to echo in her head. Who was it? _Spencer?_ She tried to open her eyes, wondering if it really was him. It wasn't all just a dream, had someone actually been there in the room with her after Drake? Was Spencer real, had he truly been there with her?

The first time she opened her eyes the lights were so bright that she had to close them right away, her retinas feeling as though they were on fire. She took a moment before forcing her eyes open again, turning her head more into the pillow and away from the blindly light, blinking quickly to try and adjust them faster. The hand gripped her palm again, a gentle brush ghosting along her cheek. The fingers before her eyes were long and thin, they looked like someone's that played the piano.

"Aurora?" Relief.

She squinted her eyes and looked over to the man that was holding her hand, whispering her name and speaking to her as she tried to sleep. The blurred form cleared slowly as she blinked, revealing mussed about brown hair, large brown eyes and a thin face. He looked pale, much like she was sure that she must have looked, as well.

"Spencer," she mumbled out at last, her voice cracking to the point that the name almost didn't come out at all. She lifted her other hand to reach across to him, wondering if he was actually sitting beside her. His free hand met hers before she could reach his face, his long fingers holding onto her burning hand, lowering it to her stomach as he continued to hold onto it.

He didn't say more, but his head felt to rest on the bed, his long hair falling around his face as he held her hand against his cheek. She tiredly stroked her finger along his cheek, feeling the stubble there from not shaving. How long had he been there? The door opened behind Spencer a moment later and Aurora looked up to where someone in a white doctor's coat stepped in, pausing for a moment when her blue eyes landed on him.

"It's good to see you're awake, Miss. McNeil," he said calmly. Spencer lifted his head to look over to where the doctor was as well, still holding Aurora's hands in his gently. "How are you feeling?" he asked softly as he moved over to stand on the opposite side of the bed that Spencer was sitting.

"Not good," she mumbled out tiredly, her voice still struggling to come out clearly. The doctor smiled in understanding as he pulled a penlight out of the pocket on his coat, gently taking her face in his hands and shining the bright light before her eyes, flicking it from side to side and watching her eyes carefully. She fought against turning away from the light and was left with black spots in her view after he had finished. Her head only hurt more.

"Well, it's good to see that you're awake. Now we can start to help you get better," he assured. Spencer released one of her hands to let the man take her pulse, holding her wrist in his hand and watching the watch on his wrist as he counted the beats in his head.

"Who," she started softly, closing her eyes as she fought against yawning.

"I'm Dr. Carson," he said gently as he leaned one hand on the lifted side railing of her bed. "You're in the hospital recovering from hypothermia and pneumonia," he explained softly. "You remember Dr. Reid, I presume?"

"Spencer," she said with a faint smile as she looked over to the brunette at her right. He smiled back for a moment as he held her hand in both of his. She could feel that he was quivering slightly as he held onto her, his grip tightening and loosening every once and a while. "I thought you were a dream."

"I'm here," he assured. "It's all over now. You're safe," he whispered against her hands as he closed his eyes. Aurora smiled a moment before she looked over to there the doctor was adjusting the IV in her left hand, catching her curious gaze.

"We had to get nutrients into you while you were asleep, but you should be able to get this taken out soon. Don't worry. There's going to be some nurses coming in to check in on you later, draw some blood for tests and give you some more medicine, but you should be able to go back to sleep soon," he said in a soft voice. She knew that she looked ready to fall asleep as she laid back, her eyes starting to droop and her limbs weakening again.

"Sleep," she mumbled to herself as she let her eyes fall closed, feeling Spencer place his hand over top of the one that lay on her stomach, careful of the IV in the back of it. She drifted back to sleep fairly quickly, the world fading out around her as she let herself be lulled back to sleep by that irritating beeping noise and Spencer's rhythmic stroking motions on her hand and arm.

Spencer Reid looked down at her face as he felt her hand go slack in his own, knowing that she had fallen back asleep. She had been asleep for almost a week, seven full days and seven nights since they had been rescued by the team. There had been people in and out of the room that Reid had nearly been living in for the past couple of days, friends from work and her personal life. Some had even brought their kids in with them so that the kids could leave flowers on the different surfaces around the room and whisper to Aurora 'I hope you get better soon' before their parents carried them away. Some had spoken with Reid while they were there, telling him that she had watched the kids for them or they had been friends for a while and she was considered family.

"They get very attached," one Sarah O'Connor had said to him on the fourth day as her husband held their four year old in his lap beside the bed, whispering to him that Aurora was just resting and she'd be back to play again soon. "She would pick him up after she left the school and would hold him and tell him all about the pictures she was marking. He always loved to watch her paint, too. He would say that he watched her paint stories."

"There's a lot of people that miss her," Reid said softly as he thought back to all the faces that had come and gone.

"She's not the kind of person that makes enemies. She has manners and her personality just reels people in. She's always been able to connect with her students much better than anyone else at that school."

"Now that she's awake," Dr. Carson said, breaking Reid from his thoughts, "The largest worry is over. That was the first big bump in her recovery. The next is when she becomes fully coherent and the trauma sets in." Reid nodded his head in understanding, fully aware of PTSD. Aurora was said to be strong, always had been, but trauma like what she had been through could break down even the strongest willed people.

"I'll be here for her," Reid answered back quietly as he reached up to brush his fingertips along her temple. Dr. Carson didn't linger long before he left the room silently, knowing that there was something between the Doctor and Aurora McNeil; something that it was better for him to stay out of.

It was night time when Aurora woke again, the lights off in her room and leaving her in darkness. She was relieved that she didn't open her eyes to blinding light again, but the dark was unsettling. She closed her eyes against the shadows and darkness around her, her hand reaching out in search of Spencer out of instinct.

"Spencer?" she asked softly, hearing only silence as her only answer. She looked over to where he had been sitting the previous time she had woken up. The chair had been pushed back against the wall, vacant. She lay back against the pillow silently, her hand fisting in the blanket. Footsteps in the hallway caused her to jump, bolting up into a sitting position on the bed. She winced when the world spun around her, her IV tugging in her hand.

She turned and looked down at the needle pressed into the back of her hand, held in place with a strip of medical tape. Her hand shook as she peeled the tape away carefully before removing the needle. Several other wires and cords held her to the bed, quickly removed with shaking hands and jittery limbs. She threw the covers off the bed and moved off the side carefully, the hospital gown scratching her skin and the polished floors feeling like ice beneath her bare feet. She almost wanted to jump back onto the bed, but the hardness and coldness of the floor was reassuring after only having sand for so long.

She stayed beside the bed as her legs adjusted, her knees almost buckling several times when she tried to walk toward the door. When she was only left wobbling, she made her way over to the door. It felt exposing when she was left in the center of the room, not a single thing to lean on or hide behind. She took a moment to simply press her weight against the wall to relax a moment, her hand lingering on the doorknob. A sense of relief that she could never explain broke free inside of her when she was able to turn the knob.

The light that filtered in through from the hallway as soon as she opened the door, forcing her to close her eyes against the blinding light, made her flinch and lean against the doorjamb. She blinked carefully a couple of times, trying to lessen the burning in her eyes before she finally opened them to look forward. There was no one else in the hallway, leaving Aurora alone and exposed. Taking a deep breath, she began to tentatively walk from her room, looking at the different doors that she passed by. More often than not they were closed, with charts hanging by each door for the respective doctors.

The cold floor sent chills up from her feet, her arms moving to cross over her chest in an attempt to keep her torso warm.

It felt eerie, walking through the hallway alone. Just as in a nightmare, the hallway was long and deserted, the lights overhead causing a disturbing array of shadows to appear. Aurora shivered at the thought and continued down the hall, looking briefly through windows at sleeping patients or offices that were unoccupied by their owners.

A sudden hand on her shoulder drew a strangled gasp from Aurora as she smacked the appendage off, spinning around and facing the offender. The man held up his hands in defence, trying to look completely harmless even though she could clearly see the muscles that encased each of his arms and pulled his t-shirt sleeves taut. He was, however, distinctly familiar.

"Miss. McNeil, it's me, Derek Morgan. I'm a friend of Reid's," he offered, keeping his hands up in front of him. Against her will, Aurora released a sigh of relief when she realized that this was the man she had blurrily seen in the bathroom, after she had been saved. Her memory of the event was foggy, but she knew that he had been there, talking with Spencer.

"I remember," she whispered hoarsely. "Sorry…I'm just-"

"It's alright, I understand. Why are you out here? You should be resting," he said gently, lowering his hands down to his sides.

"I can't be in that room. It's…dark and cold. It reminds me too much of…I just," she cut herself off when she felt shame fill her. She was a grown woman and here she was admitting that she couldn't stay in her hospital room alone because it was _cold_ and _dark_? But Morgan just smiled softly and moved forward to wrap a strong arm around her shoulders.

"I was just on my way to Reid's room; we were finally able to convince him to get some sleep after you woke up this afternoon." Her heart leapt in her chest and she nodded her head, allowing him to guide her in a different direction than the one she had been taking, making sure to stay slow because of her weak and tired legs.

**It has been a very long time, so I apologize that it took this long for me to update. I've been having a bit of a block on my Criminal Minds fics, so I wasn't even sure if I was going to continue this one, but I get an urge to write more every now and again. Hope that you all liked it, even if it seems to have been forever since the last chapter was read.**


	11. Nightmare Transitions

**Nightmare Transitions**

Unable to sleep, Reid sat propped up against the pillows of his bed as he played around with a rubik's cube that Morgan had thought hilarious to buy him for his stay in the hospital. It was easy to solve it and every time the other agent found that the genius had solved it he would twist it around longer and longer, hoping to make it even more difficult. Reid thought it was madly amusing and decided to humour the man and take his time twisting all the pieces back into place.

"Hey, kid," Morgan called from the doorway, drawing the younger man's attention away from the colourful block in his hands. Reid's eyes immediately widened when he spotted Aurora standing beside Morgan, smiling tiredly at him. Tossing the cube aside, he threw the blankets off his legs and rose from his bed.

"Aurora, you're awake," he mumbled out, watching her with wide eyes.

"I found her wandering the halls, thought I'd bring her here to say hi," Morgan said as Reid moved forward, hesitating. The dark skinned man nudged Aurora's back, silently telling her to go to Reid without the kid knowing. She didn't hesitate as Reid had and immediately stepped up to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning her cheek on his boney shoulder. It took another moment but Reid soon wrapped his arms around her in return.

"You should be sleeping, it's late and you need your rest-"

"It's too dark," she whispered, only loud enough for him to hear, and tightened her arms around him. Reid fell silent as he thought over what she had said, imagining that it must have been hard to wake up alone. Waking up alone didn't mean anything good for her while she was locked away and it would be terrifying to think that everything that had happened with them being rescued was only a dream.

"I'm going to go get some coffee," Morgan suddenly declared from the doorway. "Can I get either of you one?"

"She doesn't drink coffee," Reid said at the same time that Aurora answered in the same way with 'I don't drink coffee', getting an amused look from Morgan. Reid pale cheeks flushed dark as Aurora looked up to him with a smile.

"I forgot I told you about that," she confessed, still smiling. To Morgan, she politely requested for some water. He just nodded before leaving, still smiling, and left the two of them alone. They hadn't once let go of the other, something that hadn't escaped the older agent's attention and he was sure to poke fun at Reid about it later.

"Come on, sit," Reid suddenly blurted out and moved her over to the bed carefully, allowing her to choose her own pace. The flush of his cheeks remained when she didn't stop smiling at him, watching his face. There wasn't amusement to his awkwardness like with Morgan; she was smiling at him just for the sake of feeling the need to smile. After so long of being locked away, Reid was able to make her smile again and it felt wonderful.

"Thank you, Spencer, for everything," she said once she was sitting on the edge of his bed, holding the rubik's cube in her hand. "You…kept me sane when I thought that I wasn't going to last another day." Her thumb stoked over the smooth surface of a red square, her smile turning sad and her eyes drifting down to the cube.

"I promised you I'd get you out of there," he answered back softly, moving to sit in the chair beside his bed, pulling it forward so he was sitting directly in front of her. He took her hands in his gently, letting the cube fall into her lap carelessly. "You're safe now, Aurora. I won't let anything happen to you." His words brought a blush to her cheeks that Reid felt slightly awkward to see. The reddish tinge to her skin reminded him of when she had kissed him while she was still feverish.

Her smile was sad when she met his eyes again. "What about when you go back to Quantico?" she asked timidly, her hands tightening in his grip. Reid opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out. What would happen when he went back to Quantico? He couldn't very well just leave her behind to fend for herself when she was beginning to go through PTSD.

"I don't know," he answered honestly, stroking this thumb along the back of one of her hands reassuringly.

Looking down at their hands, she frowned a moment before tugging lightly on his hands to guide him up onto his feet. "Could I stay with you tonight? Just…like before?" she asked softly as her eyes darted to and from his eyes. She was too shy to stare him straight in the eye, but she was still bold enough, desperate enough, to ask it.

Reid felt his face burn in embarrassment, but he swallowed thickly once before he nodded his head and moved to first sit on the bed beside her, leaving the chair behind. Smiling in reassurance, he moved to lay back against the pillows and waited as she leaned herself back against him, letting him cocoon her in his long form just as it had been when they were caged in. Reaching for the small lamp beside the bed, Reid flicked off the light as he then wrapped his arm around her torso to keep her completely bundled up.

Morgan stopped outside of the door and smiled at the sight of the two laying back against Reid's pillows, the Doctor himself flicking out the lights as Aurora's eyes fell closed as she finally relaxed enough to begin to doze. Placing Aurora's bottle of water on the table inside the door, he then closed the door quietly and moved to leave them to sleep.

It was entirely an understatement to say that the nurses were not happy that once more Aurora or Reid were not in the room that they were assigned upon entering the hospital. But Aurora was sleeping peacefully and Reid was sleeping, period. Curled up on the small hospital bed, they looked oversized as they both tried to fit comfortably on it, but they managed. Garcia had a wonderful time teasing when Morgan sent her a picture, but they wouldn't bother Reid with that just yet.

It was a couple of days later when Aurora was filling out a couple of forms before she could be released from the hospital, Reid standing with Morgan as they offered her a ride back to her apartment, where her friend would be staying with her until she was adjusted again. Morgan carefully watched his friend as he in turn watched Aurora silently. She was still pale in comparison to what she had looked like before her kidnapping, but she no longer had dark shadows beneath her eyes and after a long shower she looked comfortable in her skin once more.

"Are you alright, Reid?" Morgan asked calmly, watching the young genius try and cope with his own feelings.

"It doesn't feel right," he answered after a moment. "Leaving her alone like this; I know that the threat's gone but it doesn't seem proper to abandon her." Morgan nodded along, understanding why the younger man was feeling so strongly on the subject. He had to return to work, after he went through careful tests to make sure that he didn't suffer mental scaring from this time with the unsub.

"We can't take her with us, Reid. This is her home and it'll be her decision on what to do," he explained in a quiet tone as Aurora moved out of her room carefully, her papers in hand to give to the nurse's desk for filing. "All ready?" he asked with a smile, receiving one in return before she moved over to the desk to quickly give the papers so that she could finally leave the hospital. Morgan took the bag of medication given to her before he turned toward the exit, letting Reid help her walk since he knew that she would be more comfortable with him and she would be with someone that was still basically a stranger to her.

Aurora was still terribly tired and let Reid guide her toward the black truck that he immediately recognized near the front of the hospital. The rest of the team was heading out early and Morgan would drive Reid back with him. Her eyes moved around the people that were scattered throughout the halls, noticing some of the nurses that had been tending her and Reid were watching them go with curious eyes.

"Will you be okay?" Reid asked in a hushed tone, reaching up to gently run his fingers through her hair and hearing the softest sign escape her lips. It was strange how something that had once been so intimate and awkward before and suddenly knowing that he could be this close to her.

"I'm a big girl, Spencer," she assured with a tired smile, "I'll be fine. Besides, a friend will be staying with me for a little while and I'm gunna move to a new apartment; feel a bit more…secure." Reid was nodding along, knowing that for her to move from the location of her abduction was best, letting her have what peace of mind she was able to find.

"Promise me…you'll let me know where you are," Reid mumbled hesitantly, giving her a sheepish look that matched his tone. Without saying anything in reply, Aurora leaned into his side, against the hand that had been running soothingly through her hair, and silently gave him the answer he wanted. Ahead of them, Morgan didn't act as though he was listening to them, but the faintest of smiles upturned the corner of his lips as he turned out of the main entrance to the hospital.

The ride to her apartment was an awkward affair for the most part, Aurora sitting as tense as a guitar string in the back, her eyes flitting all around through the windows. There wasn't a detail that escaped her eyes, trying to look at everything at once. Reid was sitting in the back with her, trying to keep her calm, but she didn't seem to fully register his efforts as she continued to stare at the people that they passed on the streets, reading the signs of shops and roads, the faces of people who even briefly glanced at them in passing.

It didn't take long to pull up to her modest apartment complex, parking along the curb but still close to the door. Aurora didn't seem ready to move, her hands twisting together nervously in her lap as she was staring up to where Reid remembered her bedroom window to be. It overlooked the street, but the curtains were usually drawn closed so that her privacy was preserved. "Everything's okay," he tried to reassure, reaching for one of her hands carefully. She flinched only slightly before taking in one deep, calming breath and turned her eyes to him. Morgan was already climbing from the driver's door, moving over to her side to open her door.

"Ready?" he asked after a moment, watching as she glanced over to Reid one more time before she freed herself from the seatbelt and allowed Morgan to help her down from the truck, her malnourished limbs tired enough that her height didn't give her the usual advantage.

"Aurora!" a shout came from the front steps of the building, a shorter woman with brilliant red hair rushing down the steps as soon as her friend had exited the car. Aurora didn't jump nor smile, seeming pale a moment before she nearly stumbled over to where the other woman was waiting for her. Opening her arms for her, the woman took in Aurora without another word, tears watering her eyes as she held onto her tightly, the vibrant red of her hair clashing sharply with Aurora's deep brown.

Reid shared a look with Morgan as he closed the door to the truck, waiting a moment as Aurora held tightly to the other woman a moment more before she drew away. Aurora looked older than her, even without the fatigue that had gripped her appearance, seeming like they were neighbours instead of long-term friends. The small ginger girl appeared the age of a college student, more than likely renting a small apartment somewhere in the same building.

"I was so worried about you," she was mumbling away, running her hand through Aurora's still tingled locks before she pulled away to look into her tired eyes.

"I'm okay," Aurora assured as her voice shook just slightly. It was a blatant lie, and everyone who heard her knew that. But they didn't say anything, and instead allowed her the belief that she was putting on a brave face, even if it was one that they could see straight through. The redhead offered a watery smile before she glanced over to where Reid was approaching, Morgan remaining behind with the truck. He knew when to give his friend time alone.

"I'll take you up, alright?" Reid offered, nodding in greeting to the redhead. As they walked away, the smaller woman moved over to the dark skinned agent hesitantly.

"She's nowhere near alright, is she?" she asked in a quiet voice, as though she was hoping that Reid and Aurora wouldn't hear her even though they were inside of the building already. "I'm her neighbour, Allison."

"Agent Morgan," he introduced in return, taking her offered hand and shaking it gently. "I think that she'll be okay, she's a strong woman and she has a lot of people here for her. I hope I can put my faith that you'll be there for her, too."

"Of course," Allison assured, blinking away her tears as she looked toward the window that Aurora's room could be seen through. She hadn't even heard a thing when the woman had been kidnapped; she should have done something more than what she did. Sleep right through it.

Inside of her once comfortable apartment, Aurora was standing as stiff as a pole with her arms wrapped around herself. One of her friends had come by and cleaned up the mess that was left behind while she was still in the hospital. It didn't help. It felt like she was standing back in the pit of sand, no one there to keep her safe or reassure her. Unable to control the tears that poured free, she began to tremble as she looked to the door that led to her bedroom, the door closed but her mind knowing exactly what it would look like.

She jumped briefly when Reid placed a hand on her shoulder, awkwardly trying to offer what comfort he could as she shook beneath his hold.

"I can't do it," she gasped out through her tears, shaking her head to try and hide her reddening face. Reid immediately moved inward, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and pressing her face into the soft material of his sweater, hearing the chocked sobs that she was trying to press down and causing her to hiccup deep in her chest.

Reid wasn't Morgan, he wasn't big and strong like most girls wanted when they needed to be comforted, but in comparison of their sizes, Aurora was so tiny that Reid enfolded her in his long arms easily. The thinness of his body left his clothes to hang from his frame and wrap her in the material that didn't cling to his form. She was accustomed to him and found that comfort in him that she wouldn't be able to find in someone else. It may have only been because they were stuck together for a time, but it was still Reid that could help her fall asleep. Or to make her forget the horrors she had endured.

"You can," Reid whispered against her hair, rubbing at her back as soothingly as he could. "You are much stronger than you think, Aurora. You're safe now, and you'll get better at this."

"I wish I could believe that," she mumbled back, her voice tight and trembling. "It's in the walls, Spencer. I can hear him in my room, see him in the walls. He's still here, no matter how far away he actually is."

Running his fingers along the back of her neck, he felt her relax only slightly against him at the soothing touch. "I won't let him near you. Ever again."

Pulling back to look at her face properly, she was still crying and her eyes had begun to turn red because of the salty tears, but Reid still found her to be as aesthetically pleasing as her photograph had been in the beginning of the search for her. Wiping at her cheeks, Reid tried to remove the grief from her eyes, wanting to see the shine that he had seen when she found out how fast he could read, or how it was when he complimented her drawing abilities.

Her body trembled as she closed her eyes, trying to only rely on the feeling of his thumbs against her cheeks. Reid noticed the shake of her limbs and the bumps along her flesh from a chill and in an instant reaction he removed the sweater that he was wearing for the second time, moving it to wrap around her shoulders. Her blue eyes looked so wide in comparison to normal because of her tears, looking up at him as the warmth of his sweater encased her. The unique scent of his cologne and soap was a reassurance that reminded her of that first night of having company in three weeks which didn't result in an argument.

Spencer was in many ways her saving grace, more so than he realized.

**Sooooo…it's been a **_**really**_** long time. I don't even remember the last time I worked on one of my C.M stories, but I was watching a rerun the other day and thought 'why not' so here it is! Don't worry, it's not just going to end with Reid leaving her. Now that I only have one more exam and then SUMMER I can finally get back into my stories and just forget about having to actually do work for a little bit! ;) anyway, hope to hear from whoever may still be following this story and I hope you enjoyed the long awaited chapter!**


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